A middle-aged Calgary man with HIV has been charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with a 17-year-old Central Alberta girl he met online.
Calgary Police Service say the 56-year-old man met the girl through an online dating website and communicated with her on numerous occasions.
Last Friday, he drove to a summer camp that the victim was attending, picked her up and drove her to an address in Calgary, where it is alleged he sexually assaulted her.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb said the summer camp is located near Red Deer.
Calgary police became aware of the matter when RCMP members reported concerns that the girl was taken out of the camp and provided a description of the suspect vehicle.
Police were able to trace the vehicle to an address in southwest Calgary. When officers attended, they said they found a female in distress and arrested the suspect.
Xavier Robert Bissonnette, 56, is charged with aggravated sexual assault. He is in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Bissonnette was diagnosed as having HIV in 1998, and allegedly did not disclose this prior to engaging in unprotected sex with the victim.
Calgary police believe there may be other victims who are unaware of the suspect’s medical history and so they are encouraging anyone who may have had unprotected sexual relations with him to contact them.
Anyone with further information about this or similar incidents is asked to call the Calgary Police Service Sex Crimes Unit at 403-428-8175.
People with information can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com. If the information leads to an arrest, tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.