KITCHENER -- Guelph police say a man has been charged following a luring investigation involving a victim in the United States.

The investigation started in December 2020. Guelph police's Internet Child Exploitation Unit worked with the Department of Homeland Security to look the allegations of luring against a Guelph resident.

Guelph police said they were contacted by American authorities to start the investigation after a concerned parent contacted local authorities. The victim is from Michigan.

"The victim in this case was a female and they did not know each other prior to this online conversation," said Scott Tracey with Guelph police.

Officers in Guelph performed a search warrant in a residence near the downtown core on Tuesday morning. A 27-year-old man has been charged with luring, invitation to sexual touching and making sexually explicit material available to a person under 16.

He was released with conditions and will appear in Guelph court on July 2.

Tracey said police are currently only aware of one victim.

"We would encourage anyone who may have had contact with this individual either to contact the Guelph police directly or their local police service," he said.

KEEPING CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE

Catherine Tabak, program manager for Cybertip.ca, said children are spending more time online during the pandemic. Tabak said the offending community is also aware of this increase and is targeting children who are online without supervision.

"The biggest thing that parents can do, really, especially during this time, is to open up lines of communication with their kids," Tabak said.

She also recommended paying attention to how much time children are spending online.

"We encourage parents to ensure devices are only being used in common spaces, so avoid the use of them in bedrooms or bathrooms," Tabak said.

She also said people can take away devices at night.

"We know that oftentimes these communications are happening during unsupervised times," Tabak said.

Cybertip.ca offers alerts for parents, which can notify them about concerning trends and offer online safety resources.

Tabak said anyone with concerns should reach out to them directly.

"We know that parents are doing their best in terms of communicating with their kids, helping identify risks and consequences, types of online communication," Tabak said.

Tabak said their tip line has seen an 88 per cent increase in calls about children being sexually exploited.

She added it's important for service providers to make sure their platform is safe for children.

Cybertip.ca is a national program through the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

Waterloo regional police and Guelph police also offer information on ways to protect children online.