Belgian man arrested in Canada hotel room with girl, 13
Sun, Jun 15, 2008
AFP
MONTREAL, CANADA - A 31-YEAR-OLD Belgian man was arrested after being found in a Montreal hotel room with a missing 13-year-old girl, police said on Saturday.
The suspect had arrived in Canada two days ago to meet the girl, who went missing on Friday evening. Dozens of police officers searched hotels across the city after finding messages between the girl and the man in her computer.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, will be formally charged on Monday with 'luring' a minor and could also face charges of kidnapping or assault, Montreal police spokesman Eric Ouimet told AFP.
'It was the love of her life, so she wasn't too happy for us to be there,' Mr Ouimet said.
'She will need to be told about life's little mysteries. Maybe we'll leave that to her parents.'
'Even if the girl did not appear to have been brought in the room against her will, at least by physical force, she is still only 13 years old,' another police officer, Olivier Lapointe, told Radio-Canada.
'She is under the age of consent and that is an immediate criminal infraction,' he said.
