By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Blood Tribe man facing child porn, luring charges

Aug 21, 2017 | 2:25 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 20-year old Blood Tribe man has been arrested and charged on allegations that include child luring and accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.

The arrest was the culmination of a joint investigation between ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit, Blood Tribe Police and the Lethbridge Police Service.

They took Skylar Pantherbone into custody on Aug. 17, after learning that an individual had “sextorted” an underage victim. Police say the individual hacked into a Lethbridge teen’s social media account and accessed private photos to sextort her.

The victim went to a Lethbridge Police School Resource Officer in March 2017, and with the help of ICE, they were able to track the hacker’s location and determine his identity.

Police did note that the victim and accused were not known to each other.

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During the arrest at a Blood Tribe home, police say they seized various electronic devices, weapons, the proceeds of crime and illicit pills, including suspected fentanyl and oxycodone.

The charges against Pantherbone include:

•        Child luring;
•        Extortion;
•        Accessing child pornography;
•        Possessing child pornography;
•        Distributing child pornography;
•        Breach of recognizance (x3);
•        Possession of proceeds of crime;
•        Possession of weapons dangerous to the public;
•        Drug trafficking;
•        Possession for the purpose of trafficking; and
•        Obstructing a peace officer

Police also stated that the breach allegations are in relation to a previous investigation by ICE, for which Pantherbone was arrested in September of 2016 on similar offences.

Anyone with information connected to this investigation or any other case involving child exploitation, is encouraged to contact local police or www.cybertip.ca.