Brandon Man Charged By Police

A 23-year-old man from Brandon is facing several charges including sexual assault of a minor.

Originally arrested in May after allegedly giving meth to a teenage girl and sexually assualting her, five more victims have now been identified.

The 15-year-old girl had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment after she was given the meth. The 23-year-old began talking to the girl on Snapchat for 18 months, when she was just 14. The man was charged at the time with luring, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and administering a noxious thing.

Brandon Police continued to investigate and it led to hundreds of videos and images of child sexual abuse on the 23-year-old man's phone. That's when the five other victims were idenified and all are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Kirby Sararas is with the Brandon Police Service and she said this is a very scary situation.

"We have definitely seen people use the internet to lure and exploit youth," said Sararas. "With that said, we haven't seen a case with this many victims from one individual locally."

On top of his charges laid in May, the 23-year-old man is now facing charges of accessing and possessing child pornography, five counts of luring, four counts of invitiation to sexual touching, four counts of sexual assault, and two counts of sexual interference.

Grooming:

While Brandon Police Service hasn't had to deal with a case of this magnitude in the past, cases just like these and worse are becoming much more common. With social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Facebook, to name a few, online predators are finding it easier to get in touch with youth.

The predator will then get to know their victim and make them feel safe before asking for sexual photos and or videos. At this point, situations only get worse and in the past, the victims have taken their own life.

While social media can be a positive, Sararas does stress the importance of parents speaking to their children about how to stay safe.

"Parents really need to be having conversations with their children, so they understand that it is okay to say no," said Sararas. "I believe there are many individuals that are sending photos to people around the world because they have been convinced to do so."

What are the signs? (according to Sararas)

The person will try to get to know your child, learn things about them;
They will be told it's okay to send images and or videos of themself;
If the victim has sent videos or photos, the suspect will demand more and if they don't receive them, they will say they will show them to their friends and family.