The family of a 40-year-old man charged with child luring involving an Edmonton teenager released a statement Tuesday.
In an email to Global News, the sister of Noah Madrano shared a comment on behalf of his family:
“No words of ours will ease the trauma that the young victim and the victim’s family have endured.
“If such words existed, we would offer them with all the sorrow and anguish that fills our hearts.
“Our greatest hope is that this young person and their family are able to heal, through a combination of time, support, and love.
“We love Noah unconditionally, which includes loving him even through the most unthinkable of acts. Our love does not mean that we condone, excuse, or minimize these acts — vehemently, we do not.
“There is no excuse for harming a child. We ask for our privacy to be respected so that we may begin to process these events.”
The Edmonton teenager was last seen on Friday, June 24, at around 8:30 a.m. in the area of 131 Avenue and 91 Street, which is next to Killarney Junior High School.
Edmonton police said she was found in Oregon on the morning of July 2 and a man was arrested for child luring.
Police believe the two met online.
According to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s office in Oregon City, Madrano “was taken into custody through a joint effort by the Oregon City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on July 2, 2022 in Oregon City.
“The alleged victim was located with Mr. Madrano as well.”
Chris Owen, chief deputy district attorney, said Madrano is being held at the Clackamas County Jail and was arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
He will appear in court “on a felony information charging kidnapping in the second degree, rape in the second degree and sexual abuse in the first degree.
“It is our understanding the federal government will be initiating charges as well. Moving forward, we will work with our federal partners to determine the proper course of this prosecution,” Owen added.
During Madrano’s virtual court appearance, prosecutors requested that bail be set at $500,000 and involve a pre-trial no-contact order with the 13-year-old Edmonton girl and all minors.
Prosecutors said they made those requests due to the aggravating factors that the accused allegedly targeted the girl when she was 12 and allegedly “coerced” her over the course of a year. Lawyers said he allegedly went up to Canada to kidnap her. They said it’s also alleged he threatened to kill her.
The judge granted those requests and set bail at $500,000 and set the no-contact order.
Even if Madrano is able to post bail, he cannot be released as there is also a federal (FBI) hold.
Madrano did not yet have a lawyer as of Tuesday evening.
On July 12, he is scheduled to appear in court next for arraignment on indictment.
Several organizations were a part of the investigation, including ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams), Northern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit, Oregon City Police and the FBI.
The girl’s father spoke with Global News over the phone on Tuesday afternoon.
“She is home and safe,” he said of his 13-year-old daughter. “People need to realize that she’s got a long road ahead of her now. She’s certainly not come out of this unscathed but we’re taking it one day at a time. We’ve surrounded her with friends and family and just trying to get her through.”
He said the support from the community this past week and a half has been amazing and lifted them up in their darkest hours.
The girl’s father said the family was at the airport within one hour of finding out she was found. After several delays and cancellations, they arrived in Oregon and were reunited.
“It was unbelievable. She was very emotional. So were we,” he said. “That hug was amazing. It was needed.”
The family arrived back home together on Monday.
“She’s really gone back into kid mode now,” he said. “She’s 13, but as a parent, you always see the baby in your child. She really needs her family right now.”
The father said he’ll be following the court case closely.
“We want him in prison for as long as possible,” he said. “As the trial progresses, we’ll be very active and make sure we’ll be at all court appearances and pushing for the longest sentence possible.”
He also has a message for other parents:
“Don’t let their guard down with internet use. Always watch (your) children. This is something that was unexpected to us. We had all the parental controls imaginable.
“They will find access somehow and there (are) predators out there waiting for our children… The internet is a scary place.”
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