Friday, March 29, 2024
39.0°F

Canadian man faces rape charge

by KEITH COUSINS/kcousins@cdapress.com
| July 3, 2014 9:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - A 26-year-old was arrested Tuesday night and charged with rape and sexual battery committed by lewd or lascivious acts on a minor.

Joshua Mackenzie, of Alberta, Canada, allegedly drove to Coeur d'Alene on Monday to meet a 16-year-old girl. The alleged victim added Mackenzie to her Facebook page six months ago and the two engaged in sexual conversation in the months prior to their meeting, a police department press release states.

At 10:30 p.m., Mackenzie picked up the girl from her Coeur d'Alene home and they checked into a motel on Appleway Avenue. They spent the night at the motel and, according to the release, had sex.

The alleged victim's mother believed she was spending the night at a friend's house. On Tuesday, the girl took Mackenzie home to meet her mother, the release states.

"As soon as she (the mother) figured out the situation, she called us," Coeur d'Alene Police Department Sgt. Christie Wood told The Press Thursday.

Wood said detectives then contacted Mackenzie and asked him to come into the station for questioning. The man was arrested at the station without incident.

"Let this serve as a reminder to monitor kids' activity on the internet," Wood said. "There are predators out there searching for the opportunity to exploit them."