A 32-year-old Kelowna man is under investigation for sexual exploitation after the mother of a 14-year-old discovered explicit dialogue on an Internet chat site.

Police say the girl was one of 146 young women being targeted by the unidentified man, who had been passing himself off on Facebook as a 22-year-old.

The man was apparently trying to lure the girl into a face-to-face meeting.

"It was clear from the explicit language the male used, that his intent was to meet with the girl to perform acts of a sexual nature," says RCMP Constable, Steve Holmes.

"Though the girl repeatedly made reasons why she could not meet with him, the male persisted."

Holmes says the meeting never took place, instead, the police investigation led them to the man.

"He is now being investigated for sexual exploitation."

He says the incident should serve as a reminder to youth and parents to never trust anyone you have only met on-line.

"Internet predators spend hours searching for targets, usually finding victims between the ages of 11 and 15 to be the most vulnerable. They soften up their victims with carefully worded conversations, eliciting information from them in order to find out where they live, go to school, hobbies, sports and where they hang out."

Holmes says there are a number of things young people can do to safeguard against these types of exploitations, including:

• Never say anything to a stranger on the Internet you wouldn't say to them face to face
  
• Never give out personal information
  
• Know how to block people you don't want to talk to
  
• Don't be afraid to tell someone if an Internet conversation becomes uncomfortable
  
• Never agree to meet with anyone you've met on the Internet, unless your parents know and you are not alone
  
• Keep the lines of communication open with parents and/or guardians.