A person types on a laptop computer during an Artificial Intelligence roundtable attended by AI experts and leaders from across Canada in Gatineau, Que., on Monday, May 27, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
A Winnipeg teenager has been charged following an international sextortion investigation involving a youth in Belgium.
City police arrested a 15-year-old boy on January 8 after an investigation into child sexual abuse imagery uploaded to a social media platform. The case involved a teenage girl living in Belgium.
Police allege the accused formed an online relationship with the victim over approximately one year. The two had never met in person. During that time, the victim was coerced into sending intimate images, which were later posted online without her consent.
Between October 4 and November 30, 2025, the victim was allegedly harassed and extorted, with demands for money in exchange for stopping the distribution of the images. The victim reported the sextortion to Belgian police and was assisted in having the images removed.
The investigation came to the attention of Winnipeg police in October 2025 through a report from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which traced the activity to an address in Winnipeg. A search warrant was executed at a residence in the Point Douglas neighbourhood, where the teen was arrested. Digital storage devices were seized with the assistance of an electronic storage device detection dog.
The accused faces multiple charges, including extortion, criminal harassment, and several offences related to child sexual abuse and exploitation material. He was released on a release order with conditions.
