A 39-year-old man charged with luring and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl from Winnipeg

Police have charged a man from Richmond, B.C. with luring and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Winnipeg. 

The Winnipeg Police Service worked with the RCMP in B.C. on this investigation. On July 22, they issued a search warrant at Radouene Bentroudi's home.

Bentroudi was charged with luring a person under 16, sexual assault, sexual interference, and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 years of age.

As he travels for work, Police believe there is a possibility that there are more victims elsewhere.

In June of 2019, an investigation was launched when police received a report Bentroudi was attempting to lure a 13-year-old girl in Winnipeg via social media.

After building rapport and trust, outreach workers spoke with the girl, and she told them that Bentroudi came to Winnipeg on a work trip and it was then he sexually assaulted her.

At that point, the Winnipeg police counter-exploitation unit began a thorough investigation and it has since been over a year.

Manitoban police have reported that since the pandemic, they've seen a rise in reports of children being exploited online.