Police lay additional child luring, sexual assault charges against 53-year-old man
Edmonton police have laid additional child-luring charges against a man after another girl came forward to accuse him of crimes.
The 15-year-old girl is the fourth to approach police in the case to say Horacio Benitez lured and sexually assaulted her among other offences.
Investigators with the Edmonton Police Service last month started looking into a report of a sexual assault on a girl, finding that the 53-year-old had befriended three girls — two aged 14, one aged 12 — using the social-media platform Snapchat between December and early March.
Police said in a media release on Friday that, in that time period, Benitez offered to buy vapes, marijuana and alcohol for the girls in exchange for nude images, videos and in-person sexual contact.
Police arrested Benitez on March 27 and charged him with several offences, including two counts each of sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and luring of a child.
Since those charges were laid, police said, the 15-year-old girl came to police, leading to additional charges against Benitez of sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual counsel of child, distributing cannabis to a youth, luring a child under 16 years and obtaining sex services of a child for consideration.
EPS Det. Helena McNalley says police believe there are more victims of Benitez that haven't yet come forward.
“(We) want to assure them that what happened is not their fault and they are not alone," McNalley said in the release.
"We are here to help and encourage them to reach out to us.”
Anyone who believes they may be a victim of Benitez is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous tips can be given to Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Indianapolis 500 starts after 4-hour rain delay with Kyle Larson in the field
The Indianapolis 500 started Sunday after a rain delay of four hours with NASCAR star Kyle Larson still at the track and in the race.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.