A 32-year-old man from Ohio is in custody in that state after allegedly posing as a teenage male and luring a 10-year-old Manitoba girl to send explicit photos of herself to him.
Cortney Arden Wise III, 32, of Wadsworth, Ohio was arrested in that state and remains in custody there. He is charged with sexual exploitation of children, receipt of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possession of child pornography. According to RCMP, U.S. officials believe he may have victimized other children and are continuing to investigate. None of the charges against him have been tested in court.
“The details of this case are disturbing and underscore the real dangers that online predators and those with malicious intent pose to impressionable children and youth,” said Cpl. Emmie Clements, of the Manitoba Integrated Child Exploitation Unit. “We are thankful to our partners at Homeland Security Investigations for their help and collaboration in locating and arresting a suspect for this heinous crime.”
In a release, RCMP said they first learned of the crime in December of 2025 from a family member who noticed the exchange and notified them. Their investigators learned the girl had been conversing with an adult man posing as a teenage boy that she initially met on a popular social media platform. Their conversation eventually moved over to text messages, where the man continued to groom the girl and convinced her to send images and video of herself to him, and sent explicit photos to her.
From there, police said Manitoba RCMP Internet Child Exploitation Unit reviewed the contents found on the electronic devices used by the victim and determined the suspect lived in the United States. They began working with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to assist in locating the suspect. On Feb. 12, Special Agents from HSI Cleveland executed a search warrant at a residence in Wadsworth, OH, and arrested a suspect. They also seized the suspect’s electronic devices, which found evidence of the communication between himself and the Manitoba girl.
“Homeland Security Investigations remains committed to working with law enforcement worldwide to combat child exploitation,” said Maggie Sigur, attaché for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations. “This case underscores the impact of cross-border collaboration in protecting children – a commitment we share with the RCMP.”
