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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
\u201cIt only takes a few moments for bad actors to make contact with their next victims,\u201d RCMP Cpl. Emmie Clements says.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis incident was a terrible reminder of the dangers that lurk on the internet, especially for children and teenagers,\u201d Cpl. Emmie Clements told a Winnipeg news conference Monday. \u201cIt only takes a few moments for bad actors to make contact with their next victims.\u201d<\/p>\n
Records filed during a February detention hearing for Wise in U.S. federal court in Ohio allege that he pretended to be a 15-year-old boy online.<\/p>\n
While Clements declined to identify the social media platform involved, saying responsibility ultimately lies with offenders rather than the platforms themselves, court documents say the girl created a Snapchat account using a false age while using her grandmother\u2019s cellphone to play games. Her grandmother later discovered the messages.<\/p>\n
\u201cA terrible reminder of the dangers that lurk on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
A U.S. Homeland Security agent wrote in a Feb. 12 arrest warrant affidavit that the girl \u2014 who said she was 12 years old \u2014 allegedly followed Wise\u2019s instructions by posing in certain ways and sending several sexually explicit photos and videos.<\/p>\n
During the detention hearing, the agent also testified that investigators believe Wise had engaged in similar behaviour in the past.<\/p>\n
Manitoba RCMP officers alerted Homeland Security agents, who arrested a suspect and seized electronic devices during a Feb. 12 raid in Wadsworth.<\/p>\n
The devices contained \u201cevidence of communication\u201d with a Manitoba child, Clements said. She declined to say how long investigators believe the girl and Wise had been communicating.<\/p>\n
Last month, Premier Wab Kinew revealed that the province is exploring a ban on social media and AI chatbots for youth, similar to measures introduced in Australia earlier this year. The proposed restriction would apply to children aged 16 and under.<\/p>\n
Wiebe said Monday that the ban has two main goals: implementing protections and safeguards, and ensuring social media companies are held accountable for what occurs on their platforms.<\/p>\n
Lindsay Lobb, director of operations for support services at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said reports of online luring have surged in recent years \u2014 rising from about 750 reports in 2020 to more than 3,300 in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of this is tied to the scam of financial sextortion, which we saw skyrocket during (the COVID-19 pandemic),\u201d she said. \u201cBut alongside that, different types of luring have become really prevalent, not just luring and extortion for money, but also luring and extortion for more images.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Lindsay Lobb is director of operations for support services at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n She said between 2020 and 2024, there was a 265 per cent increase in such cases.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know is that much of this is attributed to adults being allowed to intersect with children in largely unregulated places,\u201d she said, noting that Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are responsible for many of the luring attempts reported to the organization, with TikTok\u2019s numbers increasing sharply after the platform introduced direct messaging last summer.<\/p>\n \u201cParents are doing their best. We know that more needs to be done. There needs to be a co-ordinated approach and a shared responsibility to protect children online.\u201d<\/p>\n Luring cases on rise<\/p>\n Police in Manitoba have reported arrests in several online luring cases this year, and the national rate of online luring offences against children hit a record high in 2024.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tClick to read more<\/p>\n A recent Statistics Canada study said the national rate of online luring offences against children climbed to a record high in 2024 (the year for which the most recent numbers are available).<\/p>\n Police in Manitoba have reported arrests in several online luring cases this year. The Winnipeg Police Service announced charges against seven suspects in February and March alone.<\/p>\n In March, StatCan said the national rate of online child sexual exploitation, based on incidents reported to police, soared by 347 per cent from 2014 to 2024. The increase coincided with the expansion of social media networks.<\/p>\n The study said the true number is higher because sexual offences involving children and youth are often not reported to police. A suspect was identified in about one in four incidents.<\/p>\n StatCan said 3,927 online sexual offences against children were reported to Canadian police services in 2024 for a rate of 52 incidents per 100,000 children.<\/p>\n The rate increased by 43 per cent from 2023 due to a sharp increase in the number of luring incidents reported in 2024.<\/p>\n StatCan said the rate of luring offences in 2024 was the highest on record, increasing from 23 to 38 incidents per 100,000 children from 2023.<\/p>\n Luring accounted for 74 per cent of all police-reported online sexual offences against children in 2024, with 2,903 incidents reported that year (1,173 more than in 2023).<\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Kitching <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tClose<\/p>\n Lobb said the centre supports Manitoba\u2019s proposed social media ban, and echoed Wiebe\u2019s comments on holding social media platforms to a higher standard.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are beyond (social media platforms) saying they can police themselves because we know they are not,\u201d Lobb said. \u201cThey have created spaces where there is unregulated contact between adults and children, and that is where we need to step in and why government is exploring this.\u201d<\/p>\n While acknowledging that such restrictions are still relatively new and research remains limited, she said barriers that make it harder for offenders to access children can still have value.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be perfect the first time around, there\u2019s going to be the need for tweaks\u2026 but there has to be a place that we start,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lobb added that many younger children do not fully understand the nature of what is happening to them online.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re being told it\u2019s a game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese kids are being groomed, they are being directed and told what to do and how to do it, or they\u2019re being directed to go onto certain platforms,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re being told it\u2019s a game.\u201d<\/p>\n For teenagers, she said, vulnerabilities can be compounded by normal stages of adolescent development, including a growing desire for independence, evolving relationships and sexual exploration.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect storm for offenders to take advantage of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Clements said parents can reduce risks by actively supervising children\u2019s online activity \u2014 including knowing what devices they use, what apps they access and maintaining access to passwords, where appropriate. She also encouraged limiting internet use and disabling home Wi-Fi during certain hours.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n RCMP Cpl. Emmie Clements speaks during Monday\u2019s news conference announcing the arrest.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of children are able to actually hide a little bit more from their parents, from changing the passcode and the password on a social media platform, and then they are hiding the conversation,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are also children that just erase communication, and as new communication comes in, they just keep erasing it to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n Lobb said stories like this one can also help parents begin difficult conversations with their children about online risks.<\/p>\n She pointed parents to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection\u2019s \u201cparenting in a digital world\u201d resource, which offers guidance on discussing online safety and understanding the risks children may encounter online.<\/p>\n \u201cIt allows parents and kids to talk about it in a way that doesn\u2019t feel very personal,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives them the opportunity to talk about it in a way where it doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s about them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 With files from Chris Kitching<\/p>\n scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Scott Billeck Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.\u00a0 Read more about Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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