A Grande Prairie man faces eight child sexual exploitation charges after allegedly trying to lure and sexually assault a young boy earlier this month, and Alberta authorities believe there may be more victims in Northern B.C.
Jonathan Karl Bruenig, 34, was arrested Jan. 23 after the boy's relatives reported their concerns to police, according to Alberta's Law Enforcement Response Teams' Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.
Bruenig is charged with two counts of child luring, and two counts each of making, distributing, and possessing child pornography. He remains in custody and will appear in court Feb. 12.
Bruenig allegedly used a number of fake online personas, and posed as a teenage girl to lure teenage boys, police say. Online conversations would escalate from sexualized chats to sharing explicit photos and videos, while Bruenig allegedly tried to make arrangements to meet with the boys, police say.
"He was using the photos and names of innocent third parties to construct these personas," Cpl. Dave Knight said, noting the investigation mainly involved Facebook.
"We would encourage parents to be vigilant in monitoring their children's activities on all social media platforms, because predators don't just choose one platform."
Bruenig has lived in the Grande Prairie and Kelowna areas, and has also been involved with a number of junior hockey teams, police say.
They believe there may be more victims in Northern Alberta and B.C., as well as the Northwest Territories and Australia.
At least two teenaged victims have been identified so far, and police continue to search for and speak with other possible victims.
"We anticipate more victims and more charges," Knight said.
