Alberta man charged with sexual exploitation after meeting B.C. girl on Roblox

An Alberta man has been charged with child-luring and sexual exploitation after a man met an underage B.C. girl online through Roblox and exchanged messages and explicit photographs on another social media platform.

Kelowna RCMP allege Kenneth Livesey met the Kelowna girl through the online gaming platform Roblox, which allows for online multi-user game play and messaging.

The 19-year-old and the girl, whose age hasn’t been disclosed, then began chatting on Snapchat, exchanging text messages and photos. Messages exchanged on Snapchat gradually grew more sexual and the girl was coerced into sharing explicit photos and videos, police alleged.

Moving communication from one platform to another is a “common tactic by offenders to evade detection” or avoid safety guardrails, said acting RCMP Sgt. Matt Pepper.

The girl’s parents found the messages and reported them to Kelowna RCMP. A joint investigation by internet child exploitation teams in Alberta and B.C. followed.

Livesey was arrested on Oct. 29 in Beaverlodge, Alta. He has been charged with child-luring, making sexually explicit materials available to a child, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material, and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

He has been released and is due back in Grande Prairie, Alta., court on Nov. 18.

sip@postmedia.com