Blake Charbonneau faces pimp-related charges involving four victims.
A 35-year-old man from Laval who was the first person to be sought in Quebec through a program that uses billboards and social media to encourage the public to be on the lookout for fugitives has been arrested, police said Saturday.
Blake Charbonneau, who faces pimp-related charges involving four victims, was arrested by Mexican authorities and brought back to Canada. When he arrived in Toronto, he was arrested by members of the Toronto Fugitive Squad in connection with Canada-wide warrants and subsequently taken into custody by investigators from the Integrated Anti-Pimping Squad for his return to Quebec.
Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Montreal Gazette Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
He will appear at the Quebec City courthouse to face charges of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated sexual assault, obtaining sexual services for consideration including minors and procuring, police said.
The Bolo Program (Be on the Lookout) had been used in other parts of Canada when the Sûreté du Québec introduced it in January 2022 to Quebecers.
Charbonneau had been arrested in Quebec City on March 19, 2020 as part of an investigation involving one victim. After he failed to show up in court in May 2021, the SQ announced it was seeking the public’s help in locating him. Three other alleged victims came forward after the announcement.
In January 2022, SQ Insp. Pierre-Mathieu Viviers announced that a reward of up to $50,000 was offered through Sun Youth for information that led to the arrest of Charbonneau.
“Blake Charbonneau has displayed a level of violence to a point where some of the victims feared for their lives. He exercises control on his victims by keeping them in his grip through threats, manipulation or fear,” Viviers said at the time, adding investigators believed Charbonneau had contacted many other potential victims through social media.
With files from Paul Cherry of the Montreal Gazette
-
Alleged Laval pimp is first Quebec subject of police manhunt program
-
Quebec mosque shooting left invisible scars, young Muslims say