ALERT’s Child Exploitation (ICE) unit announced the charges against 21-year-old Imesh Ratnayake on Wednesday. Ratnayake is accused of contacting the children online and meeting them in Morinville and the Edmonton area, luring them into sexual acts between September 2021 and June 2022. It was originally reported to the Morinville RCMP detachment. “ICE alleges that Ratnayake targeted young girls through the social media app Snapchat. He was able to perpetuate the crimes by gaining access to the victim’s contacts, in some cases through extortion,” ICE said in a statement. The victims were aged between 11 and 13 at the time of the offences. Morinville has a population of approximately 10,000 and is located 30 kilometers north of the Alberta capital. “We don’t have any information at this time to believe that he has a personal connection to this town, which makes it that much scarier, I guess,” commented Sgt. Kerry Sima.
ACCUSED USED SNAPCHAT
Sima said ICE has “reason” to believe there are other victims and asked anyone with information to call the unit at 780-509-3363, local police or Crime Stoppers anonymously. ICE is also following up on other victims who may come forward during the investigation. “[The forensic team is] going through some devices that we have right now, which we have seized during the investigation and we are trying to identify any possible victims who could appear in these tests,” Sima told reporters on Wednesday. Ratnayake used the Snapchat handles “islandsauce0129” and “monked.ruffy.” He also used a 2011 Acura CSX in some of the alleged offenses, police said. In addition to the charges listed above, he faces charges of luring a child, possession of child pornography, receiving sexual favors from persons under 18, solicitation of sexual intercourse, distribution of personal images and extortion. Ratnayake is not accused of sexually assaulting each of the six known victims, but Shima said the 21-year-old “was criminally involved with all of the victims to some degree.” Ratnayake was released on parole and given a court date in Morinville on August 4.
HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN
Shima offered advice to local parents who may be concerned their child has been injured. “Look for changes in behavior. Have open and honest conversations about sexual assault, consent, child luring, online strangers, things like that, people you don’t know, adding friends to your friends list.” Recommended direct questions.
Do you have an online relationship? Do you have friends on your Snapchat friend list or Instagram account that you don’t know about? Is there anyone asking you naked? Is there someone who compliments you out of the ordinary? Is there someone offering you something for sex? Is there anyone offering you something for photos?
“Interrogating them won’t work, not with teenagers, so we have to have a relationship and a conversation instead of an interrogation,” Shima said.
“Part of that is making sure these kids have a safe place to go when something goes wrong, and if kids don’t feel they have their parents’ trust in something as intimate as a sexual assault, then they may not report… up to their level, speaking their language and speaking in a language that everyone understands. Also, getting to their level where they can teach us about these platforms. I have teenage kids myself and I’m having them teach me about Snapchat,” he shared. She also advises guardians to find parenting guides offered by social media platforms, which are freely available online:
