A 36-year-old Headingley man who police say was communicating with an Ohio child on Snapchat is facing several charges, including possession of child sexual abuse material and luring.
Internet child-exploitation unit officials started investigating last month after the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children told Winnipeg police that a local man was communicating online with a child in Ohio, police said in a news release.
Investigators found the man had engaged in ongoing conversations with a child, the release says. A police spokesperson told CBC News the man used Snapchat to communicate with the child in April.
A warrant was obtained to search his Headingley home, the release says.
Internet child-exploitation unit investigators and an electronics-detection dog seized multiple electronic devices during a search on Tuesday.
The man has been charged with possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material; making, printing, publishing or possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material for the purpose of publication; three counts of transmitting, making available, distributing or selling sexually explicit material to a person under 18 years old; and two counts of luring a person under 18 years-old via telecommunication.
Police says he has been released on an undertaking, which includes protective conditions for children under 18.