Youth charged with sexual assaults, extortion

RCMP have charged a young person with two counts of sexual assault and extortion for incidents that occurred in Shad Bay, N.S., dating back to 2019.

Halifax District RCMP say they received a complaint on Oct. 27 about a sexual assault involving youths. Officers learned through their investigation that sexual assaults, the distribution of intimate images and extortion began 2019.

The victim and offender were known to each other, police say.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said he could not disclose the age or gender of the perpetrator or victim, though he said both are youths. The incidents occurred in a home, he said.

"What's important for us to remember is for parents to have that hard discussion with their teens about the sharing of intimate images," he said. "Once you do decide to send an image, you can't get it back."

Officers believe there may be other victims in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The young person, who cannot be named under provisions in the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested and released on conditions. They are scheduled to appear in youth justice court in Halifax on Nov. 24.