Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) alleges that a 22-year-old man from Australia travelled to Edmonton with the intent of having sex with a 13-year-old girl he met online.

Investigators say Jiashu Weng met the girl online in October 2016, regularly engaging in sexually explicit chats and photo sharing.

Edmonton police were tipped off by the girl's mother at the same time Weng arrived in Canada. Police believe Weng travelled to Edmonton with the intent of having sex with the teen.

“She went into the daughter’s cell phone and discovered these text messages, and as a result of that contacted Edmonton city police,” ALERT ICE Inspector David Dubnyk said Friday. “The suspect had travelled to Edmonton, and was waiting at the hotel room.

“Fortunately, for the mother’s actions, this was intercepted and prevented.”

Weng was arrested at a hotel room in Edmonton.

With the assistance of the New South Wales Police Force, Weng's residence in a Sydney, Australia suburb was searched. A number of computers and electronic devices were seized.

Jiashu Weng has been charged with luring a child under 14-years-old, possession of child pornography and distributing child pornography.

Anybody with information about this investigation or any other child exploitation offence is asked to contact local police or visit cybertip.ca.