LPS seeking witness after offender was re-arrested
By Lethbridge Herald on January 14, 2026.
By Alejandro Pulido- Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
Lethbridge Police re-arrested 50-year-old Skye Atoa for breaching the conditions of a release order approximately half an hour after his release from custody.
According to Lethbridge Police, upon his release, Atoa was required to go to a court-ordered residence, but after being dropped off at the location he made no attempt to comply with the requirements and instead proceeded to a store.
Through proactive investigation, police observed the subject in the store’s perfume aisle in very close proximity to a young female and he was immediately arrested.
Lethbridge Police is attempting to identify the female witness who was nearby at the time of Atoa’s arrest.
She 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.
The witness is asked to contact police at 403-328-4444 and reference file 25059360.
Atoa, who was released Tuesday afternoon after a bail hearing that took place on Monday, is charged with human 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, is now charged for breaching the conditions of a release order.
Atoa’s charges stem from two incidents where vulnerable females were sexually assaulted and unlawfully confined.
On Tuesday morning, Lethbridge Police Staff Sgt. Ashlin Snowdon with the Criminal Investigation Section spoke to media about Atoa and his upcoming release from custody and shared the reason for his arrest.
Snowdon said that on Dec. 19, 2025, police responded to a report that a 14-year-old girl was being held in an apartment along the 500 block of 8 Street South. Upon arrival, a male answered the door, and the girl was located inside in medical distress. The victim was transported to hospital.
He said the male was later arrested without incident and following the execution of a search warrant, two additional girls aged 15 and 16, were found inside the residence after being unlawfully confined for several hours.
Snowdon added that Atoa is also charged in connection with a previous sexual assault in October 2025, where a 24-year-old vulnerable female was sexually assaulted at his residence. In that case, Atoa is charged with sexual assault and obtaining for consideration sexual services/communicating for the purpose of sexual services.
And he explained that those charges were recently laid as a result of continued investigation and evidence uncovered during the investigation.
In addition to his previous charges, Atoa is now facing a further count of failing to comply with release order conditions. Following a Judicial Interim Release hearing, he was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on the new charge January 15.
17-16
Lock the pervert up and throw the key away.
I’m concerned there were no kidnapping charges.. which suggests all of these unfortunate victims willingly went to his apartment. Am I missing something?
There has to be some recourse to the judges who release these obviously dangerous repeat criminals on bail. I’m tired of all the various reasons the judge uses to explain why the criminal was released with no consideration for any future harm they may cause.
Legislation is needed, and the Crown needs to take off the handcuffs on the Crown Prosecutors so they can enforce the law.
The advocate who has stood for change on our streets for almost 10 years for some of us business owners downtown told me this criminal has openly hung around a downtown service station almost daily overnight, with some others, openly working with some of the other organized criminals at that location for most of the night. He is currently away for a couple of weeks, but has informed me of what he knew and saw in his research and I try to express some of the information.
Some of us brought up our concerns with the head office of that service station over a year ago, since it was the #2 hotspot for crime in the city last year, but nothing was ever done. Change was short term, then it slowly crept back and the manager did nothing. He sees the security camera footage of his property everyday, as I check mine as soon as I arrvive at my business, so there is no excuse. Which begs the question in my mind, whether staff has been compromised by the criminals!
The activities are in the open! This Atoa made that location his area his office in the parking lot, almost nightly!
Concerns by the neighbourhood were voiced on various levels! Organized crime does not have value on human life, judged by their actions! Some would not allow children to be sexually groomed, or trafficked years ago, but nothing is sacred anymore! Atoa was seen with members of this organized crime group in this city!
There has to be deterents in place that are respected by criminals and they have to be enforced and when they are not, lawlessness increases, it expands and more organized crime factions arrive to make revenues! We have seen a large increase in just 2 years with some from East Asia, so are the proxies of the bikers?
Lethbridge became a prime target because other cities were moving on cleaning up the crime, such a Calgary and Edmonton and Lethbridge, was smaller, allowed the increases because as leadership stated “it is happening in every other city, so we just have to accept it”, and became and easier place to conduct business with less opposition by law enforcement.
For those of us of work downtown, we see the prostitures on the streets daily and there are always some who look like they are only 16 years old or in some cases younger! Drugs, dealing, use are prevalent as is crime.
Until we decide as a city we are done with this and that we can bring change if we try, these type of incidents will only increase!