Alberta man charged with child luring after alleged exploitation of B.C. girl on Roblox

A 19-year-old Alberta man has been charged with child luring and sexual exploitation after police allege he coerced an underage girl from British Columbia into sharing explicit photos and videos. Kenneth Livesey of Beaverlodge, Alta., was arrested on Oct. 29 following a joint investigation by internet child exploitation units in both provinces. He faces charges of child luring, making sexually explicit materials available to a child, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material, and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Livesey has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Grande Prairie, Alta., on Nov. 18. Police allege Livesey met the Kelowna girl through the online gaming platform Roblox. The two then began communicating on Snapchat, where the messages became sexual and the girl was coerced into sharing explicit photos and videos, according to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT). The girl's parents discovered the messages on Snapchat and reported them to Kelowna RCMP, which triggered the investigation.

Diverting the conversation to other platforms is a common tactic by offenders to evade detection and in some case bypass existing safety protocols,

said acting RCMP Sgt. Matt Pepper in a news release. Moving communication from one platform to another is a common tactic to avoid safety guardrails, police said. The investigation involved the internet child exploitation units from both Alberta and B.C. Cpl. Steven Lang, a Kelowna RCMP spokesperson, said the arrest shows law enforcement's collective commitment to public safety. "Criminal activity does not recognize jurisdictional boundaries, and neither does effective policing," Lang said in ALERT's news release.

Roblox is a platform that allows users to play and create games while chatting with others online. It reported 138 million daily active users in the second quarter of 2026. The company has safety features, including parental controls, and released an article Thursday about how it reports suspected instances of child sexual exploitation to law enforcement. Police have warned for years about offenders posing as peers on such platforms to build trust with young users.

Snapchat is a social media app designed for messages and media to disappear after a set time. ALERT did not disclose in its release exactly how Livesey and the girl connected on Roblox, but said he moved the conversation to Snapchat where the exploitation allegedly occurred. The charges fall under the umbrella of online child sexual exploitation, which police say is a growing problem nationwide. Livesey is due to make his next court appearance in Grande Prairie later this month. The allegations against him have not been tested in court.

With files from Vancouver Sun, CBC News and Global News