An 18-year-old Ottawa man is facing several charges including sexual assault and child exploitation after a seven-month police investigation uncovered an elaborate scheme that recruited teens and other young women to perform sexual acts over the Internet.

Ottawa police say the scheme targeted females between the ages of 14 and 21, and encouraged them to videotape sexual acts using a web cam.

Eighteen victims from the Ottawa and Durham regions have now been identified.

"We have concerns that there are more victims out there," said Sgt. John McGetrick of the Ottawa police.

He says the investigation should serve as a reminder to parents that children can be targeted when they go online.

"It's very important to be aware of what your child's doing when they're online -- who they're talking to. And we discourage anyone from having a private location of a computer. A computer should be in an open area accessible to the entire family," he said.

Ryan Earl McCann faces multiple charges as a result of the investigation, including sexual assault, extortion, fraud, uttering threats, making and distributing child pornography and invitation to sexual touching.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Ottawa police at 613-236-1222 ext. 5944 or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-TIPS.