Charges in Attempted Online Luring

The Calgary Police Service has charged a man in relation to the attempted online luring of a young teen.

In August 2013, a concerned parent contacted CPS after discovering sexually exploitive conversations on her 13-year-old daughter’s social media account. Throughout the conversations, the unknown person began requesting nude photographs of the teen and requesting she meet him for sexual acts in exchange for money.

Bojan AMBRUS, 33, of Calgary, has been charged with luring a child under 18 via computer, luring a child under 16 via a computer, procuring a person to become a prostitute, obtaining or attempting to obtain sex from a person under 18, personation with intent to gain advantage and breach of recognizance.

AMBRUS will next appear in court on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013.

The Service encourages anyone involved in an online luring incident to call police, or report it anonymously through cybertip.ca or Crime Stoppers:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477

TYPE: tttTIPS.com

TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637

Signs your teen may be experiencing side-effects of online exploitation:

Sad or crying frequently
Displays of anger
Loss of appetite
Loss of interest in activities, hobbies or sports
Not wanting to attend school
A sudden change in their activity level on their own social media platforms

Important ongoing discussions to have with your teen about online contact with others:

Explain that adults should not be attempting to become “friends” with or give sexual attention to teenagers. Let them know this type of boundary-breaking behaviour demonstrates the adult is using poor judgment, making it unsafe to interact with them.
Discuss that it is illegal to threaten someone online or offline. Explain that threats are often used in an attempt to control the situation and get youth to comply with demands of a sexual nature. If someone threatens her/him, s/he needs to tell a safe adult (whether it be you, a teacher, a counsellor, etc.).
Explain that there is no need or urgency to respond to any messages. Teach her/him not to respond to messages that make her/him feel uncomfortable.
Discuss how sharing personal issues or situations online with the wrong person could leave someone open to manipulation and mistreatment.
Use real life stories from the media to discuss situations that have happened to teens. Seize the opportunity to openly talk about these stories with your teen, as well as the risks, and discuss what could have been done differently. Your child is less likely to become defensive as the scenario is not about her/him personally. At the same time, it opens the door for your child to share a similar situation or concern with regard to her/him or one of her/his peers.
Teach your adolescent how to get out of unwanted conversations and/or relationships. Some direct ways of getting out of uncomfortable situations include refusing to do something by saying “I don’t want to” or “No thanks” or discontinuing contact by not responding to messages, and deleting or blocking the person as a contact. Indirect ways of ending a conversation include making excuses such as “I have to go out with my family.” or blaming parents “My mom checks my computer randomly and would ground me.”
Explain the importance of seeking your help without the fear of her/him getting into trouble and reinforce that it’s never too late to ask for help, even if they are embarrassed about what has happened.

For more information for teens or their parents on online exploitation, what to do and how to get through it, go to Cybertip.ca