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Oregon authorities filed kidnapping, rape and sexual assault charges Tuesday against the man accused of abducting an Edmonton teenager who has been missing for more than a week.

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Noah Madrano, 40, appeared in Clackamas County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon to be arraigned, a process where defendants are formally informed of the charges against them. He was not released and bail was set at $500,000. Madrano has been in the Clackamas County Jail in Oregon City, southeast of Portland, since he was arrested Saturday. Chris Owen, the chief deputy prosecutor in the Clackamas County DA’s office, said Tuesday that the alleged victim was with Madrano at the time of his arrest. The 13-year-old girl, who Postmedia is not naming, was reported missing in Edmonton on June 24. She has now been reunited with her family. “It is understood that the federal government will also press charges. Moving forward, we will work with our federal partners to determine the proper course of action for this prosecution,” Owen said in a statement.

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It remains unclear how the Canadian girl crossed the US-Canada border. A statement from US Customs and Border Protection referred Postmedia to the FBI, saying they are investigating the incident. In Oregon, felony charges are first filed by the district attorney before being brought before a panel known as a grand jury. If the grand jury decides based on the evidence that a felony has been committed, the defendant is charged. The charges against Madrano may change during the grand jury process, which has yet to take place. Madrano has another court date scheduled for July 12. The specific charges filed Tuesday against Madrano are second-degree kidnapping, second-degree rape and first-degree sexual assault.

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Under Oregon law, rape and sexual abuse charges specifically involve subjecting someone to sexual intercourse or contact when they are under 14 years old. Sexual abuse in the first degree also relates to the fact that a victim is subject to “violent coercion” or is incapable of consent. Kidnapping in the second degree is defined as either taking a person from one place to another or confining him “to a place where the person is not likely to be found” without legal authority or consent and “with intent to substantially interfere with the personal liberty of another .” All three charges are classified as Class B felonies in Oregon and are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Advocates are calling for tools to keep children safe online

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Edmonton police said the girl and the suspect met through social media and Madrano will be charged with child enticement. The Canadian Center for Child Protection says it’s seen an alarming 120 per cent increase in reports of children being lured online in the past six months. “They really look at the vulnerability of the child and take advantage of that,” said Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca at the center. Cybertip is Canada’s tip for reporting child sexual abuse online. Sauer said about 50 percent of the reports are related to extortion, and situations where a person meets the child online are much rarer. Prevention is the key to keeping kids safe online, Sauer said. Parents need to talk to their kids about what they are doing on social media and in chats. It doesn’t have to be a formal conversation, he added, just parents checking in with their kids. What could make a significant difference, Sauer said, is increased regulation of social media, especially for platforms like Snapchat and Instagram that young people use. One in three Internet users in the world is a child — one in five in Canada. Many countries are pushing social media companies to ensure platforms are safe for this demographic. — With files from the Canadian Press [email protected] @meksmith

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