Burnaby man charged with sextortion

A 19-year-old Burnaby man has been charged with 23 counts of sextortion involving teenage victims in several regions throughout Canada, including Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario. 

Anwer Jelassi, the Burnaby resident charged with the crimes, was the subject of a Burnaby RCMP search warrant of his home in January 2023. He was charged with 23 offences, including: 

• Nine counts of extortion;

• Three counts of telecommunicate to lure child under 18;

• One count of telecommunicate to lure child under 16;

• Two counts of possessing child pornography;

• One count of making or publishing child pornography;

• One count of importing/distributing child pornography;

• Two counts of inviting, counselling, or inciting a young person to touch the body of any person for a sexual purpose;

• One count of publication of intimate images without consent;

• One count of secretly observe/record nudity or sexual activity; and

• Two counts of breach of undertaking.

“Online sexual extortion is a crime that has had tragic outcomes,” said corporal Max Gagné of the Burnaby RCMP Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit (CASO) in a statement. “We want to remind victims that they are not alone and that we are here to help them and hold offenders to account. If you have been victimized by this type of crime, please report it to the police.”

According to an RCMP statement, “Jelassi is subject of a number of court-ordered conditions, including not to contact any victims, not to have contact with anyone under the age of 16, and not to access social networking or dating sites, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Bumble, and Tinder. Anyone with information to indicate Jelassi is breaching his conditions is asked to call Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999 and quote file 22-18157.”

Cases of sextortion have been the subject of much media coverage in recent months after a 12-year-old boy committed suicide in Prince George, BC, after being the victim of online sextortion. After this incident, the provincial government said it would launch concrete actions to prevent sextortion and hold social media companies accountable. 

“While cell phones, the internet, and social media help us connect with each other, they also present risks that can harm kids. The impact and influence of these tools is so great, and the corporations so powerful, it can be overwhelming for parents. That’s why we are taking action to protect kids from the threats posed by online predators and the impacts of social media companies,” BC Premier David Eby said in a statement last January. 

Since then, the province has introduced legislation to protect children online; however, it has since softened its stance on social media platforms, saying that instead of holding social media companies accountable, the province would partner with these companies to keep children safe. 

Other measures include a new national tip line to report the online exploitation of children, Cybertip, and educational and digital literacy campaigns for parents and children. 

In May, Burnaby School District organized four in-person educational sessions for parents at several Burnaby schools to teach them about creating healthy digital habits and keeping their children safe online. The Beacon spoke with two of the organizers of these sessions. 

“Our work, understanding just how powerful these tools are and their part of social connections for kids, and having parents understand that these things exist in the world,” said Nick Christofides, director of instruction at Safe and Caring Schools at the Burnaby School District. 

“That’s always a reminder that it’s important to be teaching how to use these tools responsibly.” 

Earlier this year, Burnaby RCMP also hosted multiple online educational sessions for residents to learn more about keeping themselves and their children safe online from sextortion and scams. 

“Some of the bigger tech giants do have monitoring related to child pornography and exploitative content. They do actually monitor their servers, messaging, what’s being sent between users,” Cpl. Philip Ho of the Burnaby RCMP told the Beacon. He added that parents must communicate openly with their children to raise awareness about the problem.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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