Abbotsford man charged in 'sextortion' of teen girl
In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 photo illustration, hands type on a computer keyboard in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
An Abbotsford man has been charged in a so-called "sextortion" case following an investigation that police say lasted more than a year.
The Port Moody Police Department announced Thursday that Jesse Toews has been charged with possession of child pornography and using a password to commit an offence.
The allegations date back to October of 2021 when a "young female" contacted authorities to report that someone had "obtained her password-protected intimate images from a cloud-based platform" and "threatened to distribute the images if she didn’t send additional intimate images," the statement from police says. The PMPD would not confirm the girl's age due to privacy concerns, but did say she was a teen at the time of the alleged offence.
The charges were approved by Crown counsel on Nov. 29, 2022.
"This investigation was sophisticated and technical, uncovering other alleged compromised data and other potential victims,” spokesperson Const. Sam Zacharias said in the statement.
Zacharias also said police appreciate the victim for coming forward, and encourage anyone who has experienced something similar to report it.
Toews is next due in court on Dec. 14.
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