A 20 year old man faces numerous charges, including child luring and extortion, following a joint investigation between ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, Blood Tribe Police, and Lethbridge Police.
Skylar Pantherbone was arrested on August 17, 2017 at a Blood Tribe First Nations home.
Police say a number of electronic devices, weapons and drugs which may include fentanyl and oxycodone were also seized from the home
In March 2017, the underage victim told a Lethbridge Police School Resource Officer what was going on which prompted the investigation.
Police the accused and victim do not know each other.
The charges against Pantherbone include:
- Child luring;
- Extortion;
- Accessing child pornography;
- Possessing child pornography;
- Distributing child pornography;
- Breach of recognizance (x 3);
- Possession of proceeds of crime;
- Possession of weapon dangerous to the public;
- Drug trafficking;
- Possession for the purpose of trafficking; and
- Obstructing a peace officer.
Police say Pantherbone’s breach charges are related to a previous internet child exploitation investigation in September 2016 when he was arrested for similar offences.