ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit is asking parents to review their children’s social media accounts, including location-sharing settings, after an 18-year-old Edmonton man was arrested for allegedly using Snapchat’s location-sharing function to locate the family home of two minors. Police announced the charges Friday during a news conference at ALERT’s Strathcona County headquarters in Sherwood Park.

Arshdeep Singh, also known as the username “max_bxyz,” has been charged with child luring, extortion, criminal harassment, making sexually explicit materials available to a child, as well as making, possessing and accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials. Singh is alleged to have tracked the location of two youths he had been communicating with online and to have threatened the children into sharing sexually explicit videos of themselves.

Police allege he later travelled to the family home and approached one of the minors. The victims told investigators they believed Singh knew their home address and the school they attended. “In these Snapchat communications, the children faced significant threats of violence where they believed that they and their family members would be murdered if they did not comply with the requirements for pictures and videos,” said Staff Sgt.

Alison Church with ICE. After a victim’s family member contacted police in August 2026, ICE took over the investigation on Sept. 10. Later that day, investigators arrested Singh.

Church said Singh was not previously known to police. Singh was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, Sept. 25, but no update was available at the time of publication. “Historically, we have had instances where children have been taken and they have been taken from their family locations. We know that.

The outcome could have been very different,” Church explained at a press briefing on Friday, Sept. 25. Parents are asked to check their children’s Snapchat accounts for the username “max_bxyz” and discuss the importance of online safety with their children. To review location-sharing settings on Snapchat, select the gear (settings) icon from the account user’s profile page.

Under Privacy Controls, location settings can be turned off or adjusted so they are visible only to selected friends. Privacy Controls also allows users to disable the Find Friends function, which suggests users who may have mutual connections. Zebra Child Protection Centre and the Edmonton Police Service are assisting with the investigation.

An investigation into the possibility of additional victims is underway. ICE asks anyone with information about the case to contact police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. TMacLeod@postmedia.com