Gatineau, March 9, 2017. – The Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) is seeking potential victims of Richard Thomas Miller, a 35 year-old resident of Gatineau, who is currently being sought by police. There is an arrest warrant out for Mr. Miller for several sexual infractions involving a less than 16 year-old girl, including sexual touching, invitation to sexual touching, Internet luring, and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

Following a raid on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 on the former home of Mr. Miller at 66 rue Vaudreuil in Gatineau, investigators have reason to fear that he has other victims. Mr. Miller uses the Internet and applications popular among teens to engage in conversations of a sexual nature with them, and to exchange intimate pictures and videos. In the matter which the SPVG is aware of, he managed to lure a teenager under 16 and to get her to his home with the intention of having sexual contact with her.

Richard Thomas Miller chats in English with his potential victims. On the Whisper dating site, he gives his name as Rick and his age as 19. He also uses the Kik application to chat with young girls. His username was "buck foy" and his login name was tincanhats_7db@talk.kik.com. Mr. Miller also used the following email addresses: rickplasmas@gmail.com and magneticrick@gmail.com. He may have used other applications or email addresses that police are not aware of. Mr. Miller always used his own photos in his profiles.

Anyone who believes that they were a victim of Richard Thomas Miller is invited to file a complaint with their local police or to contact the SPVG crime hotline at 819-243-INFO(4636), option 5. Victims or their parents can specify that their complaint may be linked to SPVG file number: 2017-1742.

Prevention tip

Mr. Miller was identified thanks to the vigilance of the teen victim's parents. They accessed her device and immediate took screenshots to preserve evidence that can be used in the investigation. Those items helped the police track down the suspect. It is important to remember that several popular applications automatically delete messages and files that have been exchanged, hence the importance of screenshots.

The SPVG asks that parents and teens be particularly cautious on the Internet and when using chat or photo applications. It is recommended that computers, iPhones and tablets of children and teens be checked to ensure that they personally know the people with whom they are in contact. Talking is the best way to alert children and ensure that they report any suspicious behaviour on the Internet.

Suspect being sought

Police are trying to locate Richard Thomas Miller in order to arrest him. Anyone with information that could help us locate him should call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Mr. Miller is known for having committed violent crimes. Anyone who sees him should use caution and not attempt to intercept him.