Texas man targeted 12-year-old Ontario girl using a messaging app: police

WINDSOR, Ont. – A 25-year-old man in Texas has been arrested after a 12-year-old Ontario girl was allegedly encouraged to send explicit photos of herself to him.

Windsor police say the girl began chatting through an instant messaging app with a person she believed to be another young girl in September 2016.

They say that person convinced the Windsor girl to send photos of herself in various stages of undress, supposedly to prove she was female.

The person then allegedly threatened to publish those photos online if the girl did not send more images of herself.

Windsor police say they began an investigation after the girl and her mother came forward in October 2016.

Investigators say they determined the girl had been communicating with someone in Dallas based on data from the messenger app service, and worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to identify the suspect.