Man charged with child luring after communicating with undercover cop he believed was a minor

The Niagara Regional Police Service detachment in 1 District located in St. Catharines, Ont., is shown on Friday, March 15, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Lynett)

Niagara police say an undercover officer posing as a teenager caught a man attempting to lure minors online.

In a release Thursday, police said Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) detectives and the Ontario Provincial Police Child Sexual Exploitation unit were jointly investigating a suspect believed to be luring minors on the internet.

“Over the course of the investigation, the suspect is alleged to have communicated for a sexual purpose unknowingly with the undercover police officer, believing them to be young persons under the age of 16,” police said.

Johnathan Jeffrey Ahlstedt, 39, of West Lincoln was arrested on April 3 and charged with two counts of each of luring a child via telecommunication to facilitate sexual interference and luring a child via telecommunication to facilitate sexual assault.

The charges have not been tested in court.