Grande Prairie man, 34, charged after teenage boys lured over social media
Grande Prairie man, 34, charged after teenage boys lured over social media
Police believe there may be other victims in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Australia
CBC News Posted: Jan 31, 2018 10:47 AM MTLast Updated: Jan 31, 2018 2:10 PM MT

Jonathan Karl Breunig, 34, of Grande Prairie, is facing eight charges related to child exploitation. Investigators believe there may be other victims in Canada and Australia. (ALERT)
A Grande Prairie man who posed as a teenage girl to lure teenage boys on social media is facing child exploitation charges after allegedly luring and trying to sexually assault a teenage boy.
Police said they have identified two victims. They believe there may be other victims in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Australia.
“We anticipate more victims and more charges,” Cpl. Dave Knight of the ICE unit said in a video interview supplied by ALERT.
Jonathan Karl Bruenig, 34, was arrested Jan. 23, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams said Wednesday.
The offences against the teenage boy were reported to police by a concerned relative, ALERT said.
ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit alleges that Bruenig used a number of online personas, often posing as a teenage girl on social media to lure teenage boys.
“Breunig was mostly posing as a teenage girl,” Knight said. “He was using the photos and names of innocent third parties to construct these personas.”
Involved with junior hockey teams
Word of the charges against Bruenig made its way through Grande Prairie-area arenas, as he was involved with junior hockey teams.
“You never expect to hear things like that about somebody you’ve seen around the rink or have met,” said Kyle Chapple, head coach and general manager for the County of Grande Prairie JDA Kings. “When I originally first got the call about this, it was shocking.”
ICE alleges that Bruenig’s online conversations would progress from sexualized chats to sharing explicit photos and videos.