A man has been charged after a sexual exploitation investigation led to the seizure of multiple weapons, the New Westminster Police Department says.
Officers were first made aware of the incident on March 21 after a citizen reported seeing what they believed to be a man acting in an “inappropriate manner” with a female youth in public.
The citizen was able to obtain the licence plate of the vehicle the man and girl were travelling in before they left the area, according to the report.
Police found the man, but they weren’t able to locate the girl.
“Officers established that this male has conditions not to be in the presence of anyone under the age of 16, and although the female he had been seen with was a youth, he was not in breach of his conditions,” the New West PD said.
After an investigation, the man was arrested for sexual exploitation. He was found to be wearing a cross-body bag containing a bear-scare fire pistol.
“Further investigation led officers to believe the male may be in possession of other weapons,” police said.
The police department’s Street Crime Unit obtained a search warrant for the man’s home, where they found an SKS rifle, a pistol-gripped compact shotgun, a 22 caliber semi-automatic rifle, ammunition, replica firearms, holsters, 3D printed firearm parts, and several other prohibited devices.
“The presence of weapons in relation to a sexual exploitation investigation is extremely concerning,” said Sgt. Andrew Leaver.
“We are thankful to the concerned citizen who called us and allowed us to uncover not only a multitude of weapons, but to also remove a vulnerable female from a dangerous situation.”
On May 26, the man was charged with several offences, including sexual exploitation, unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon or restricted weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, among others.
He remains in custody as police process the evidence.
“This is a great reminder to the public to call us if something doesn’t seem or feel right,” Leaver.
“The New Westminster Police Department would like to remind the public to call police if they see suspicious activity.”