Thunder Bay man faces charges of luring youths online

TB23006642

Thunder Bay man faces charges of luring youths online

A Cyber Crime Unit investigation led to a Thunder Bay man being charged with multiple offences related to the luring of youths online.

Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Cyber Crime Unit became aware on April 4, 2022, of a local Internet user possibly using Catfishing techniques online to lure and potentially groom youths. Catfishing refers to a luring technique in which a person uses a fictional online persona.

Through an ongoing investigation, police were able to identify a suspect.

On June 9, 2022, members of the Cyber Crime Unit, with assistance from the Community Oriented Response and Engagement Unit, executed a search warrant at a residential address in the 600 block of Vale Crescent.
Electronic devices were seized as a result of this search.

Police learned the accused had been using the identity of another existing person, and had been distributing intimate images of that person without consent. Police also obtained evidence that the accused was luring youths under the age of 16 years old.

The accused was taken into custody on Wednesday, May 10, by members of the TBPS’s Break and Enter and Robbery (BEAR) Unit.

William HEIDRICK, 31, of Thunder Bay, is charged with:

• Distribute Intimate Image Without Consent x 4
• Luring Person Under 16 Years of Age by Means of Telecommunication
• Make Sexually Explicit Material Available t o a Person Under 16 Years of Age
• Making Child Pornography
• Personate With Intent
• Fail to Comply with Probation Order

He appeared in bail court on Thursday, May 11 and was remanded into custody with a future appearance date.

If you know someone who may be victimizing children online, please report your concerns to Cybertip.ca, which is Canada’s national tipline for the reporting online sexual exploitation of children. You can also visit Cybertip.ca for more information about addressing child victimization.