More Charges After Police Review Seized Phone in Child Exploitation Case

Police say an ongoing investigation has uncovered additional offences connected to a child-luring case first reported this summer. New charges were approved after investigators analyzed the suspect’s seized device.

A Hamilton man arrested in the summer for luring and sexually assaulting a Guelph child faces more charges as a result of an ongoing investigation.

The 13-year-old Guelph girl met the man through Snapchat in February of this year and they began communicating regularly. He began pressuring her for an intimate relationship, despite knowing her age.

Shortly after they started communicating, the man came to Guelph and picked up the girl and another young female to spend time with him in Hamilton. While the three were in a grassy area the man touched the 13-year-old inappropriately. The incident was later reported to the Guelph Police.

In July a 38-year-old Hamilton man was arrested by members of the Guelph Police Service Human Trafficking/Intimate Partner Violence unit. He is charged with luring a person under 16, sexual assault, sexual interference and criminal harassment.

The man’s phone was seized at the time of his arrest. As a result of further investigation, he was rearrested Wednesday and also charged with possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, invitation to sexual touching and communicating with someone under 18 for the purpose of obtaining sexual services. He will appear in court January 16.