A man has been arrested for travelling to Winnipeg for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

Earlier this summer, the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) sent general patrol officers to respond to a report of sexual assault.

Officers met with the caller, a woman, in June 2019 and learned that her daughter who was 13-years-old had been communicating with an adult male from the US online through social media.

Initially, the daughter had made contact in January of this year, and grooming accompanied by "subtle intimidation" directed towards the victim ensued.

The male, 22, travelled to Winnipeg in April 2019 from Rhode Island. During this time, he personally contacted the victim and sexually assaulted her numerous times. After returning to the US, he continued to try to contact the victim over the internet.

Upon learning this, WPS investigators took over the case and determined the suspect's identity. Rhode Island police were contacted and the US Department of Homeland Security became involved to arrest Herbert J. Rodas on July 11, 2019.

A federal criminal complaint was made by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force at this time, and Rodas was charged with transferring obscene material to a minor, enticement of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity, and travelling in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity.

According to WPS Constable Rob Carver, separate charges in Canada will not be laid against the suspect in Canada, due to the all-encompassing nature of the charges already laid in the US. Transferring obscene material to a minor is punishable in the US by statutory penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000; enticement of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 10 years to life and a secondary fine of $250,000.

"We are doing absolutely everything we can to anonymize this," says Carver, emphasizing the importance of protecting the privacy of the victim, who is a minor. "The victim and her family will suffer life-long effects of this trauma."

Find out more about what grooming is and how you can help in preventing the online sexual exploitation of children here.