Los Angeles

Riverside Man Accused of Using Snapchat to Target Boys Across Country for Child Porn

A 24-year-old Riverside man accused of contacting young boys throughout the country and convincing them to make and provide him with explicit videos -- then threatening to distribute the material publicly if the victims didn't send him more -- was arrested today by federal agents.

Francisco Javier Soledad of Eastvale was charged with one count of production of child pornography. He was slated to make his initial appearance Thursday afternoon at U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Soledad allegedly targeted at least six boys between the ages of 12 and 15 years old, though investigators believe there may be additional victims, as yet unidentified.

Prosecutors said that the investigation began earlier this year when the family of a 13-year-old boy from Illinois learned that the teenager had allegedly provided compromising videos of himself to the defendant, who was insisting that the juvenile continue feeding him material.

U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement investigators uncovered evidence that Soledad had allegedly used Snapchat to initiate communication with the boy, whose identity was not released, leading the victim to believe that he was chatting with either a boy or a woman.

After sending the defendant several videos, the boy became suspicious and attempted to block further communication with Soledad, who turned threatening, directing the boy to continue supplying explicit videos of himself -- or risk being exposed and shamed via social media platforms, prosecutors alleged.

When federal agents dug deeper into the defendant's activities, they allegedly discovered that he had done the same thing to five other boys located in California, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee and Texas, according to court papers.

"Tragically, cases like this are part of a growing trend where children are being enticed, tricked and coerced online by adults to produce sexually explicit material of themselves,'' said Edward Owens, deputy special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations, Los Angeles.

"The decision by the victim's parents to quickly alert law enforcement may have saved an untold number of other children from falling prey, but the key to combating online sexual predation is for children and adults alike to learn how to stay safe in cyberspace.''

A search of Soledad's digital devices allegedly resulted in the seizure of more than 5,000 still images and videos involving children that were pornographic in nature, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Not all of the kids have been identified.

According to investigators, Soledad used the Snapchat handle "linkinparkrocks.'' Anyone with information was asked to contact the Department of Homeland Security at (866) 234-7423.

If convicted, Soledad could face up to 30 years in federal prison.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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