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Edmonton Journal

Leduc man charged with luring teen girls for sex: ALERT

A Leduc man is facing a raft of criminal charges after a probe by the province's child exploitation investigations team, which alleges he lured at least six teenage girls for sex. Article content The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) on Wednesday announced it has laid 27 charges against the 49-year-old, the target of a child luring investigation which began in April. Article content Article content Article content The agency said the man targeted girls in the Edmonton area aged 15 to 16, using social media apps including Snapchat to meet them for sex. Article content Article content Det. Christine Sawatsky said the investigation doesn't stop here. 'We have reason to believe there are more victims we have yet to identify as we discover images and videos on these devices,' she said in the release. Article content The accused was arrested when police executed a search warrant in Leduc June 26. They seized several devices including a smart phone and a laptop. Article content Investigators said he used the pseudonym Burke, as well as the usernames 'burkeishere2525,' 'devonhouston25,' 'keenonhedstrom' and 'treyliles2424.' Police released the names in hope of identifying additional youth who may have had contact with the accused, Sawatsky said. Article content Campbell Fergusson faces charges including child luring, making and possessing child pornography, and making sexually explicit material available to a child. He remains in custody, with his next court appearance set for Thursday. Article content Article content Article content ALERT is a multi-agency unit funded by the Alberta government to investigate serious and organized crime. Article content