Young victims of online sexual exploitation sought by RCMP

A 24-year-old Moncton man, who may have victimized as many as 2,000 boys around the world as young as 10, is facing several sex-related charges.

RCMP investigators say the man was luring boys online by pretending to be a teenaged girl.

• Child pornography bust spanning 17 countries leads to 41 arrests

The man would contact boys online using what appeared to be a live video of a teenaged girl and convinced the boys to undress and initiate sex acts, which were then taped and distributed over the internet.

The website Omegle.com, which doesn't require a username, was one site that was used frequently.

The man's identity cannot be revealed because of a court-ordered publication ban. Sgt. Jean Marc Paré said the publication ban is related to the video used by the suspect to trick boys into online sex acts.

The charged man appeared in court in February and has been remanded in custody, said Paré.

Charges against him include: making child pornography, possessing child pornography, making available child pornography, touching a person under the age of 14 for sexual purposes, and sexual assault.

The sexual exploitation dates back to at least January 2012 and continued until the fall of 2014, RCMP said.

The victims are believe to be as young as 10 and up to 16 years of age and some of them may not even be aware they have been victimized, stated the RCMP in a release.

The RCMP's child exploitation unit is seeking the public's help to identify victims. Investigators say there could be as many as 2,000 victims living in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia and possibly elsewhere.

The RCMP want anyone who may have been in contact with the man via video chat or email to contact the police.

Known user names and email accounts of the man include:

• Skype: Veronika.Maylae
• Vichatter: Veronika69
• ​Facebook account: Vero May (www.facebook.com/vero.may.3950)
• Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

"We know it may be difficult for victims and/or their families to come forward but their information is very important to the investigation and could help prevent similar crimes by online predators," says Paré of the New Brunswick RCMP.

"Police want to be able to speak to as many victims as possible to assist with the investigation."

The RCMP investigation began in the fall of 2014 as the result of information the York Regional Police uncovered during an investigation.