Ottawa man charged with child sexual offences, police seeking other victims

Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin St. is seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa police and Ontario Provincial Police say a 23-year-old man from Ottawa has been charged with child sexual assault offences, and police are seeking other possible victims.

According to news releases from both police services, Omer Faruk Yildirim is facing several child sexual assault charges.

The Ottawa police say the accused is facing 13 charges, including sexual assault, sexual interface and invitation to sexual touching of a person under 16 years of age, sexual assault with choking, administering of a noxious thing, luring a person under 14 years of age by means of telecommunication, abduction of a person under 14 years of age and unlawful possession of child sexual abuse material.

Ottawa police say Yildirim communicated over Snapchat using the username “ottawamoe.”

OPP say they received information on March 21 indicating that a child may have been lured over the internet for sexual purposes.

Following an investigation, provincial police charged Yildirim with multiple offences, including two counts sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of invitation to sexual touching of a person under 16 years of age, two counts of sexual interference, luring a person under 16 years of age by means of telecommunication, possession of child abuse and exploitation material and making sexually explicit material available to a person under 16 years of age.

The charges laid by OPP are separate from those of the Ottawa police.

The accused remains in custody and scheduled to appear before court.

Ottawa police believe there could be other victims.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5944, or at [e-mail]. The Upper Ottawa Valley OPP can be contacted 1-888-310-1122.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.

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