Canadian man indicted, accused of flying to Atlanta for underage sex

Yves Joseph Christopher Legault was indicted Tuesday on federal child sex crimes charges. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

Yves Joseph Christopher Legault was indicted Tuesday on federal child sex crimes charges. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

A man accused of flying from Canada to have sex with a Marietta teenager was indicted and arraigned on federal sex crimes charges Tuesday, officials said.

Yves Joseph Christopher Legault, 53, of Ontario, allegedly met the girl on an online site and asked her to perform sexual acts on video for him, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week. Legault faces charges of enticing a child for sex and enticing a child to engage in sexual activity online.

He was arrested Friday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after his arrival on a flight from Toronto.

The 13-year-old’s mother discovered the inappropriate contact after her daughter received a package from Canada, according to an affidavit. She then went through the teen’s email after the girl refused to tell her who the sender was.

The mother found several emails from “Chris L” that detailed repeated desires for him to meet the girl, have sex and plan for them to be together. After seeing the messages, she called the FBI.

“Cases like this one demonstrate the continued importance for parents to engage with their kids about their activities on the internet, including the apps they are using to chat, and the people with whom they are chatting,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a news release.

Legault had been in contact with the teen since mid-July after they initially met on Omegle, a free online and anonymous text and video chat tool, according to the affidavit. The teen told authorities she gave Legault her real age and that he claimed to be 22, but she thought he was older.

After a month of the email and video exchanges, Legault scheduled an Aug. 4 flight to Atlanta to meet up with the teen, authorities said. A weather delay during a layover in Buffalo, N.Y., led Legault to cancel his plans and reschedule his arrival for Aug. 11.

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