Accused in Lethbridge sex trafficking case breaches conditions, re-arrested: police

A man accused of drugging and pimping out a teenage girl was barely out of handcuffs when he was re-arrested Tuesday for breaching his conditions, the Lethbridge Police Service said.

Lethbridge man Skye Atoa, 50, is accused of several crimes including sexual assault, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

He had been in custody since mid-December and was granted bail following a court hearing on Monday.

The bail included following several conditions such as not having contact with his alleged victims and witnesses, and not communicating or having contact with people under 18 years old.

Atoa was released from custody Tuesday afternoon, only to be re-arrested about half an hour later.

Police said upon being released, the accused was supposed to go to a court-ordered residence but after being dropped off there, he allegedly made no attempt to comply with his release requirements and instead went to a store.

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Police watched as the accused allegedly went to the store’s perfume aisle and was in “very close proximity to a young female.” That is when LPS said he was immediately re-arrested.

In addition to his previous charges, Atoa is now facing a further count of failing to comply with release order conditions.

Police said Atoa now remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on the new charge on Jan. 15, in addition to a Feb. 2 court date he already had for the existing charges.

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Lethbridge police are attempting to identify a female witness who was nearby at the time of the subject’s arrest, but LPS did not release the address or store where the arrest happened.

The witness is described as having a darker complexion, with long, dark curly hair parted in the middle. She was wearing a black top, dark blue pants and carrying a small, white shopping bag.

Atoa’s re-arrest came after he was charged in connection with multiple incidents where vulnerable girls were targeted and sexually assaulted.

View image in full screen Skye Atoa, 50, of Lethbridge, Alta. Lethbridge Police Service

It stems from a call police received last month in the southern Alberta city.

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On Dec. 19, 2025, police said officers responded to a report that a 14-year-old girl was being held in an apartment along the 500 block of 8 Street South.

Police said a man answered the door and the girl was located inside in medical distress. She was taken to hospital and the man arrested.

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Police began searching the apartment and two other girls, aged 15 and 16, were found inside it.

The 14-year-old girl told police she had been forcibly confined and repeatedly sexually assaulted by both the man who was arrested and other men over a three-day period. During the raping, police said the girl was also forced to consume drugs.

The 15-year-old and 16-year-old were also forced to stay in the apartment for several hours, during which time the man exposed himself.

1:35 Lethbridge man accused of sex trafficking involving teenage girls

Atoa was charged with trafficking of a person under 18, sexual assault of a child under 16, sexual interference, obtaining sexual services of a child for consideration, indecent exposure to a child under 16, sexual counsel of a child and three counts of unlawful confinement.

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In addition, Atoa is also charged in connection with a previous sexual assault in October 2025, where a 24-year-old woman police described as “vulnerable” was sexually assaulted at his place.

In that case, Atoa is charged with sexual assault and obtaining for consideration sexual services/communicating for the purpose of sexual services.

Anyone who has been victimized, or has further information that may assist investigators, is asked to call police at 403-328-4444 and reference file 25059360.

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