A Morinville man is facing charges of child luring and sexual assault. Police say there could be more than 100 victims.
On Tuesday (Dec. 20), the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit said Imesh Ratnayake, a 21-year-old man from Morinville, has 18 charges laid against him for child luring and sexual assault.
Ratnayake was first arrested back in July for the same charges involving six children.
Police say that Ratnayake lured young girls between the ages of 11 and 13 in the Edmonton and Morinville area using Snapchat.
He was released with conditions in the summer, but he was re-arrested for allegedly luring more girls in Morinville during the fall of 2021.
Imesh Ratnayake has been charged with the following:
- Sexual assault
- Sexual interference
- Child luring (x6)
- Making child pornography (x2)
- Obtaining sexual services from persons under 17
- Making sexually explicit material available to a child (x5)
- Uttering threats
- Failing to comply with a release order
Police are asking parents to talk with their children to see if they've communicated with Ratnayake. They believe there may be over 100 victims.
Police believe he used several Snapchat profiles with the names “islandsauce0129,” “monked.ruffy,” or “mattwintoni".