Two Edmonton youths sexually exploited via Snapchat location tracking; police urge privacy review

Two Edmonton youths were sexually exploited online after a suspect used Snapchat's location-tracking feature to find them, police said Friday.

Arshdeep Singh, 18, with the Snapchat username "max_bxyz", was arrested September 10 after an investigation that began in August when a victim's family member reported the case to police. Singh spoke with the youths online and threatened them into sharing sexually explicit videos, according to an ALERT Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit news release. The victims complied out of fear for their own safety and their families' safety.

Singh allegedly used Snapchat's Snap Map feature to track the victims' locations, travelled to their homes, and knew their school. He faces seven charges including child luring, extortion, criminal harassment, and possessing child sexual abuse material.

"A case like this is manifestation of every parent's worst fears," Staff Sergeant Alison Church of the ICE unit said in a statement. "We want to prevent this from happening and are asking parents to please speak with their children about safe social media usage and, at the very least, turn off location tracking."

Snap Map is deactivated by default when a profile is created, but can be set to update continuously in the background. Location sharing depends on a phone's location permissions and can be set for direct chats. The Zebra Child Protection Centre and Edmonton Police Service are assisting the investigation. ALERT is investigating the possibility of further victims. Anyone with information can contact police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.