Calgary man charged after allegedly sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl

A 22-year-old Calgary man is facing multiple charges in connection with the alleged luring and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

In January, the Internet Child Exploitation Unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) learned that the 22-year-old man allegedly used a social media app to coerce the teenage girl into sharing sexually explicit photos.

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Officers suspect the conversations took place over several months, leading up to a face-to-face meeting where the girl was sexually abused, according to police.

The teenage girl’s mother discovered the alleged crimes when she went through her daughter’s phone.

ALERT worked with the RCMP and Calgary police to arrest the suspect at his home, the agency said Friday.

Officers seized multiple devices, including a cell phone. Investigators identified a second victim with whom the suspect had been communicating.

Steven Meier-Araya, 22, has been charged with multiple crimes, including luring a child by telecommunications, sexual assault, sexual interference, solicitation of sexual contact and several charges related to child pornography.

Meier-Araya has been released from custody on court-ordered conditions and is scheduled to appear in court on August 23.

ALERT’s ICE Division urges parents to talk to their children about internet safety.

Const. Heather Bangle of ALERT ICE noted that the explicit communications were discovered when the teen’s mother looked through her daughter’s phone: “As a parent, you have every right to keep an eye on your children and make sure they are safe.”

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“This is just one example of why it’s important for parents to know what their children are doing online, who they’re talking to and what apps they’re using.”

“Once your child is old enough to have a device in their hands, you should have conversations about safety and privacy, what’s appropriate, what’s not, and what to do if something does happen,” Bangle said.

If parents or other adults you trust find themselves in a similar situation, Bangle recommends taking screenshots of the conversations and reporting the user to the app.

According to a press release Friday, ALERT saw a record number of child sexual exploitation investigations last year, with 3,815 cases in the province, a 27 percent increase from the previous year.

Anyone with information about this investigation or a child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police or report their concerns anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Visit the ALERT website for resources or assistance in recognizing signs of online child exploitation.

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