Charlottetown man facing 13 sex charges against minors to have case heard in P.E.I. Supreme Court

Warning: This story contains details some may find disturbing.

The case against an Island man accused of using the social media app TikTok to lure underage girls and commit sexual offences against them will have his case heard in P.E.I.'s Supreme Court in front of a judge alone.

Darrel Edison Worth, 24, did not appear in provincial court in Charlottetown before Judge Jeff Lantz on Thursday morning, but his lawyer did — electing to send the case to P.E.I's higher court on his client's behalf.

Worth is facing 13 charges of a sexual nature in which both victims, whose identities are protected under a publication ban, are girls under the age of 16. 

Charlottetown police have said Worth predominantly used TikTok to make contact online with his alleged victims using the display name Eddie Worth and the username @eshaw30, and also went by the name Eric.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The charges filed in September allege that Worth committed sexual assault and sexually touched the first victim one day in late December 2023.

The records claim he repeated these same offences on the same victim on another occasion in March 2024 — the same day he allegedly lured both victims, knowing they were underage, exposed them to explicit written materials and invited them to touch him sexually.

Charlottetown police became involved that day when a referral for a wellness check for three girls came to them from Summerside police, who were concerned the girls might be involved with an older man in Charlottetown. 

The girls were located, and officers found that they had encountered a man known to them as Eric. 

Police said there was only evidence that two of them had been sexually exploited. A subsequent investigation led police to arrest Worth. 

Preliminary hearing likely 

Worth's lawyer has also requested a preliminary inquiry be held in advance of his case going to the Supreme Court. 

That's an early test of the Crown's case against an accused person, heard by a provincial court judge and often covered by publication ban, where the evidence is laid out to ensure there is enough to proceed on each charge.

Worth is also facing another charge for being at large in November when he was out of jail and did not check in with police as instructed in his release conditions. 

His case will be back in provincial court on Jan. 30.