North Bay Police are reminding young people and their parents to be mindful of who they are talking to online.

This after a city police investigation led to a 41 year old man in Castle Creek, New York being arrested in May and convicted of child pornography related charges last month.

Police say they began their investigation in February after a parent monitoring communication their child was having on Instagram and Snapchat involved a person who identified themselves as a teenage girl requesting sexual images.

The investigation revealed the suspect was also attempting to make contact with other teenage boys in the area.

The North Bay Police investigation, which involved interviews and search warrants, identified the suspect, Chad Swartwood of Castle Creek, New York, USA.

With with the assistance of the RCMP National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, information was shared with a Special Agent of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in Syracuse, New York.

Chief Scott Tod advises “The need for parents to communicate with their children is always important however the ongoing pandemic enhances that need more than ever. Advances in internet service means people living in almost every community are vulnerable to these predators.”

Detective Constable Buchanan states “Investigations of this type can be complex and lengthy in nature but Police are committed to investigating this type of crime. We need parents need to educate themselves to keep our children safe and keep predators out of our real and virtual communities.”

The North Bay Police Service is one of 26 municipal police services that work with the OPP Child Sexual Exploitation Unit (CSEU) as part of the Ontario Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet.

This partnership was made possible by a grant from the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

 

(File photo by station staff)

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