Police searching for more victims after alleged child abduction in west Edmonton
Police are searching for more possible victims after an alleged child abduction earlier this week.
Curtis Poburan, 52, was arrested Tuesday after allegedly luring a 10-year-old boy from a park in west Edmonton. A call to the Edmonton Police Service led to the arrest and the boy found physically unharmed at a nearby shopping complex.
Poburan has been charged with abduction of a child under the age of 14 and criminal harassment.
The child is receiving support from the Zebra Child Protection Centre.
"We believe that the accused may have been in other areas of the city and may have been doing the same luring in other parks or areas," Det. Rob Davis with the EPS Child Protection Section said during a media availability Thursday.
Police are asking anyone with any information to come forward.
Davis said Poburan befriended the boy and escorted him away with the offer of a vape pen. He said the suspect had been released on probation in early December.
According to court records, Poburan was sentenced Dec. 11 after being convicted on a criminal harassment charge.
He was previously convicted in 2016 of abducting a person under 14.
Last July, police issued a public warning that Poburan was a convicted sexual offender being released and that he posed a risk to the community.
Witness called police
Police said Wednesday evening they had charged Poburan with abduction of a child under the age of 14 and criminal harassment.
At around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, police responded to reports of a suspicious person near 177th Street and 69th Avenue in west Edmonton. Police said they were told a man was trying to lure a child away from the area.
Police said that when they arrived, a witness directed them to a nearby shopping complex where they found the child and took a suspect into custody without incident.
"Thank you to that person who made the report," Brooklyn Alcock, director of justice partnerships and supports with the Zebra Centre, said Thursday. "You don't always have to be right to make a report but in this situation, we were able to help that child."
The suspect had two imitation firearms when he was arrested, police said.
Poburan has also been charged with use of an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence, two counts of possession of an imitation weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, three counts of breaching probation and failure to comply with an order.
A publication ban is in effect for the child's identity.
