Man accused of preying on single parents online

[spaminator]

Man accused of preying on single parents online
Children were target, cops allege
By Shawn Jeffords ,Toronto Sun
First posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 07:59 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 07:55 AM EDT
TORONTO - A 33-year-old East Gwillimbury man has been arrested for allegedly preying on single parents online in order to sexually exploit their children.
York Regional Police’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit and the Toronto Police Sex Crime Unit arrested the man during a sting on April 8. Police allege the man believed he was meeting with a single mother from Toronto to sexually assault her young children. Instead, he met with an undercover cop, York Regional Police Sgt. Clint Whitney said.
He alleged the man had posted online classified ads in search of both female and male parents with children in the Newmarket area.
“That was a target audience — trying to find a single mother or father that had children to develop a relationship with them in order to gain access to them for a sexual purpose,” Whitney alleged Tuesday.
To the untrained eye some of the ads appeared benign, but others betrayed the man’s alleged intentions, the officer said.
“Some appear fairly innocent,” Whitney said. “Like he’s someone who is open to being a father figure and meet a single parent with kids. There are other ads (allegedly) attributed to him which are much more graphic.”
Police began investigating the man in 2013 but believe he had been actively posting ads since May 2012. Investigators are appealing to anyone who may have had contact with him to come forward.
Whitney would not say which website the man was posting to or how it was brought to police attention. The man is currently listed on the Ontario Sex Offender Registry, he confirmed.
Whitney said the arrest underscores the need for people to be careful on the Internet.
“There is a lot of bad stuff that happens online,” he said. “Then there is some really ugly stuff that happens. That’s why we’re here.”
Frank Cunningham faces six charges related to sexual exploitation and child pornography. He is being held in custody and will appear in Newmarket court on Thursday.
Anyone with information is asked to call York Regional Police at 1-866-876-5423 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Man accused of preying on single parents online | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Sex offender arrested again for allegedly targeting kids

By Michele Mandel ,Toronto Sun First posted: Thursday, April 17, 2014 08:22 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, April 17, 2014 09:33 PM EDT
NEWMARKET - One more strike and this twice-convicted sex offender should be locked away from our children for a good long time.
Frank Cunningham, 33, is a registered sex offender with a heinous rap sheet: in 2004 he was convicted of sexually assaulting a little girl and received a slap on the wrist. In 2005, he was nailed for luring a child over the Internet and landed himself a place of dishonour on Ontario’s sex offender registry as well as some lengthier jail time.
Now the Holland Landing man is back before the courts — this time after York Regional Police allege he’s been using online sites since May 2012 to befriend vulnerable single parents so that he could sexually abuse their children. He was arrested last Tuesday in Toronto during a meeting he’d set up with a single mom for the purposes, police allege, of sexually assaulting her two kids.
Unfortunately for Cunningham, the “mom” was being played by an undercover officer.
Following his arrest, police say they executed a search warrant at his home and seized documents and several computers.
Cunningham appeared briefly in Newmarket court Thursday morning on charges of arranging to commit sexual assault, arranging to commit sexual exploitation, possession and access of child exploitation and two charges of making sexually explicit material available to a young person under 16. He was remanded in custody until May 7.
What does a person on the sex offender registry look like?
There are no tell tale signs, of course. Cunningham looks like an ordinary, clean-cut kind of guy, the kind who allegedly posts cute photos of babies and talks about cuddling up to lonely moms who want to watch chick flicks.
Police are worried there are victims and witnesses who haven’t come forward and are appealing for information from anyone who had contact with Cunningham.
They would have been drawn in by personal ads that appear innocuous at first glance, police say. Just last month, they allege Cunningham posted this one on Craigslist: “Any single mom for LTR (long term relationship) Dating,” it began innocently enough.
And if that didn’t reel them in, there was a photo of a baby’s sweet little feet attached to the ad. The poster went on to describe himself as a 33-year-old in “decent shape” who is “generally open minded and none (sic) judgmental”, who likes cuddling up to chick flicks and going camping. “I wouldn’t mind having a kid of my own as well some day maybe more,” it continued.
But the creepy kicker came at the end when the poster recommended that women responding to his ad should please “put the age of your kid/kids” in the subject line.
YRP say their Internet Child Exploitation unit began investigating a man last year who was posting online ads seeking intimate relationships with people in York Region, especially single parents with babies or toddlers in the Newmarket area. Police allege the poster was particularly interested in developing a relationship with a single parent so he could gain sexual access to their kids.
The sick allegations are reminiscent of what has landed Cunningham in trouble before.
In 2004, he was sentenced to just four months in jail for sexually assaulting the young daughter of a single mom he had met.
In 2005, Cunningham was convicted of luring when a police officer posed as a child over the Internet. This time, he spent 11 months in pre-trial custody and was sentenced to a further 18 months in jail. He also received three years probation and was placed on the sex offender registry.
But rather than learning from this second brush with the law, police allege Cunningham was once again online, hunting for children. In addition to the more benign classified ads, they say there were more brazen ones as well featuring sexually explicit material that sought sex with males and females of all ages.
Right now, these are all allegations that have not been proven in court. The presumption of innocence remains his. But if Cunningham is indeed convicted once again on these child sex charges, the question is stark yet simple.
How many more chances does a sex offender deserve?

A Craigslist ad York Regional Police allege was posted by Frank Cunningham.

Sex offender arrested again for allegedly targeting kids | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun​