Online 'sextortion' suspects were trying to set up network in N.B., says RCMP

Three people arrested earlier this month were allegedly in the process of setting up a "network" aimed at sexually extorting youth in New Brunswick, says the head of theCodiac RCMP.

Supt. Benoit Jolettesaid two men and a woman from Ivory Coastwere "fairly new" to the greater Moncton areawhen officers arrested them on March 2.

"So we were able to arrest these three individuals, conduct search warrants one of them wasin Moncton and the other was in Dieppe and seizevarious electronic devices, and pretty much end the network that they were operating," said Jolette, speaking to Monctoncity councillorsMonday night.

Jolette said all three are facing serious charges and could potentially be "removed" from Canada in relation to the alleged incidents he referred to as"sextortion."

The update from Jolettecomes after the New Brunswick RCMP issued a news release last November warning that it was investigating "several" reports of online extortion targeting youth for financial gain across the province.

The police force updated that release in February to warn about a spike in such reports coming from the Moncton region.

Days later, the RCMP issued another release, announcing that two men, aged 26 and 27, and a 26-year-old woman, all from Ivory Coast,had been arrested in connection to an investigation into online exploitation targeting youth and young adults.

The three were released and are scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

Tip from Quebec police led to arrests

The news release said the RCMP made the arrests, and executed the search warrants, following information it received from the Roussillon Intermunicipal Board of Police in Quebec.

Karine Bergeron, a spokesperson for the Roussillon Intermunicipal Police Force, saidin an email that on May 27, 2022, a man in his 20sfiled a sextortion complaint with the department.

She said the man sent $1,000 by bank transfer to suspects so that his intimate images would not be published.

"The criminal investigation led the police to the suspects who are located in Moncton and part of an organized network. The RCMP continued the investigation," Bergeron said.

Contacted Tuesday, RCMPspokesperson Cpl. Hans Ouellettesaidno charges have been laid yet, as the investigation is ongoing. He declined to sharefurther information about the case.

CBC News asked the Canada Border Services Agency whether it was involved in the case, but a spokesperson said the agency wouldn't be able to respond by Tuesday afternoon.

Prior to the arrests, Ouellette said the incidents of online sexual extortion were likely being carried out by "organized crime groups."

He said the suspects would target youth particularly boys by convincing them to share intimate photos and videos of themselves and then demanding money in exchange for agreeing to not share them with friends and family.

Increase seen across Canada

Police forces across Canada, as well as child protection agencies, have warned for months of a rise in instances of youth and young adults being sexually extorted online.

The RCMP's National Child Exploitation Crime Centre said it received a total of 52,306 complaints about the crime for the year 2020-21, marking a 510 per cent increase from seven years earlier.

Boys increasingly targeted in sextortion cases: experts

2 years ago

Duration 2:13

Experts with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection say adolescent boys are being increasingly targeted on social media in sexual extortion cases.

Last August, theCanadian Centre for Child Protection said its Cybertip.ca helplinehad been receiving "an unprecedented volume of reports" from youth about falling prey to aggressive sextortiontactics.

The organization said an analysis also found that boys or young men make up 92 per cent of the victims in online sexual extortion reports, with the victims reporting Instagram and Snapchatas the most commonly used social media platforms for the communication.

Anyone who finds themselves in a situationwhere they're being extorted should immediately stop talking to the other person and deactivate but notdelete any of the accounts they're using to communicate, says the centre.

The centre advises that victims keep a copy of the messages and information about the perpetrator, such as their username and social media account information, and to reach out to an adult who can help.