Ontario man charged after being accused of luring, assaulting Winnipeg teen [Video]

An Ontario man is in custody facing charges — including luring a person under 16 — after he allegedly travelled to Winnipeg to meet a teenage girl, police said.

The Winnipeg police counter-exploitation unit began an investigation last month and learned that in December of 2024, a suspect had started to communicate with the girl on social media via private messages. The man, police said, gained the girl’s trust before arranging to meet her in person earlier in April.

Police said the suspect, 49, was found with the victim at a Winnipeg home on April 11, and allege that the girl was sexually assaulted at the same location.

The suspect, from Red Lake, Ont., has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, luring a person under 16 by telecommunication, and transmitting or distributing sexually explicit material to a person under 16.