Alberta man used sexual images of teens to blackmail them into Snapchat conversations, police allege

Police in Medicine Hat have arrested a man they say used sexually explicit images teenage girls had posted online to blackmail them into having contact with him on Snapchat.

Investigators said at least three teens in the Medicine Hat area came forward with complaints that they had been contacted through Facebook by a stranger going by the false name "Ted Mitchell."

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In each case, police said the manasked for the girls' usernames on Snapchat, a popular social media platform known for its temporary messages that disappear moments after being viewed.

When the girls refused to reveal theirSnapchat accounts, the man sent them sexually explicit images of themselves via Facebook, which he had apparently gathered from elsewhere online.

"The suspect threatened to send the images to the victims' friends andfamily and to punish them if they did not comply," police said in a release.

The Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation (ICE)Unit investigated and officers executed a search warrant on Thursday at a ruralhome in Stand Off, Alta., about 230 kilometres southwest of Medicine Hat.

A 19-year-old man was arrested at the home and charged with possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography, distributing child pornography, extortion, and uttering threats.

Police said more charges are possible.