Snap sued over rape of minor who connected to adult attacker on Snapchat. Photo credit: AP
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is facing a lawsuit in Missouri, US, after the parents of a girl alleged that features on the social media platform enabled an adult man to contact, groom and sexually assault their daughter when she was 12 years old.The lawsuit, filed in Missouri state court on Wednesday, names both Snap and Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, who has already pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year prison sentence in the state.
What the lawsuit states
The complaint states that the girl began using Snapchat in 2021 at the age of 11 without her parents’ knowledge. While the platform requires users to be at least 13 years old, the lawsuit alleges that children were aware they could bypass the age-verification process with ease.The family claims that Snapchat’s recommendation system later suggested the girl and other teenage girls from nearby schools as potential contacts to Valentin-Rios, an adult who allegedly had no existing connection to them.According to AP, the lawsuit also alleges that the platform did not warn users about the risks associated with connecting with strangers.After making contact with the girl, Valentin-Rios allegedly began sending explicit images. According to the lawsuit, the child “did not want these photographs and, at first, did not reciprocate but Snapchat’s product design made it impossible for (her) to avoid such explicit content”.Court filings further allege that Snapchat’s Snap Maps feature disclosed the girl’s home location to Valentin-Rios without her knowledge.The lawsuit states that Valentin-Rios misrepresented himself as a 17-year-old local high school student when he was actually 25. He groomed the girl over time before persuading her to meet him in person, where she was subsequently raped.Also Read: 11-year-old Delhi girl Kidnapped, raped and murdered near Mehrauli-Gurgaon border; 1 heldThe family also alleges that Snapchat failed to act despite being aware that Valentin-Rios operated multiple accounts on the platform, including one allegedly used to contact teenage girls.In response to the lawsuit, Snap said, “We care deeply about the safety and well-being of all Snapchatters, and our teams have worked for years to build safeguards, launch safety tutorials, partner with experts, and work with law enforcement to help prevent the misuse of our platform.”The girl has since been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order requiring changes to practices they allege expose children to harm.Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing the family, argued that the platform’s design played a central role in the case.”This assault did not happen in a vacuum — it happened because Snapchat’s product design made it easy for a predator to reach and manipulate an unsuspecting child,” Bergman said.He added: “Snap executives have long known that their features create a perfect environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to make the platform safe.”The Missouri case comes amid broader legal challenges facing Snap over child safety issues.
Not an isolated case
In 2024, New Mexico sued the company, alleging that Snapchat’s design facilitated sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact between adults and minors. According to that lawsuit, the company knew sextortion was a “massive,” and “incredibly concerning issue” on Snapchat but failed to adequately warn parents, users and the public.A judge rejected Snap’s attempt to have that case dismissed.Separate lawsuits are also pending against the company, including a Vermont case involving two 12-year-old girls who allegedly suffered sexual assault after meeting an adult through Snapchat. Go to Source
