A 23-year-old Innisfil man is facing several charges following a child luring investigation that started with information gathered by the RCMP.
South Simcoe Police executed a search warrant on Wednesday at a home on the 9th Line east of the 25th Sideroad in Innisfil.
Investigators say Shiva Dhanna faces several charges including possession of child pornography, extortion and luring a person under 18.
Detective Constable Kai Johnson says the accused allegedly convinced a 12-year-old girl from outside of the province to engage in sexual activity online. Police say he took screenshots of her actions.
“Once he has the pictures of this young 12-year old girl, he extorts her to perform sexual acts, or he threatens to post it on the internet.”
South Simcoe Police says the luring occurred over the course of a couple of weeks.
Investigators are concerned that there may be more victims and have released the accused social media user names.
Anyone who has had interactions with the accused online or otherwise is asked to contact police.
Johnson says parents need to monitor their children’s online activity.
“Be vigilant with your children, be vigilant with the internet that doesn’t know borders. You don’t know who is on the other end of that screen.”
The investigation is ongoing. The accused was released on conditions into his mother's care following a bail hearing on Thursday.
He will return to court on March 14.
