- Parents sue Snap; platform design enabled daughter’s assault.
- Snapchat recommended attacker; he exploited Maps for assault.
- Attacker pleaded guilty; victim suffered trauma and PTSD.
The parents of a girl who was sexually assaulted at age 12 by an adult she met on Snapchat have filed a lawsuit against the app’s parent company, Snap, along with her attacker, in a Missouri state court. The suit, filed on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, alleges that Snap has refused to disable risky app features or properly warn parents about the dangers its platform can pose to young users.
The case adds to a growing list of legal actions accusing the company of failing to protect children from predators using its platform.
How Did The Girl And The Attacker Connect On Snapchat?
According to the Social Media Victims Law Centre, which filed the suit, the girl started using Snapchat in 2021 at age 11, without her parents knowing. Although the app requires users to be at least 13, the lawsuit states she doesn’t recall what birth date she entered, and notes that children were aware the age requirement could easily be bypassed.
About a year later, the lawsuit says Snapchat’s system recommended her, along with other teen girls from nearby schools, as a friend to Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, an adult with no prior connection to them. The app reportedly gave no warning about the risks of connecting with strangers.
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Valentin-Rios began sending her unsolicited explicit images, which the lawsuit claims the app’s design made difficult to avoid. Through the Snap Maps feature, he was also able to access her home address without her knowledge. He then posed as a 17-year-old student to gain her trust, eventually meeting her in person and raping her.
He later pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year prison sentence in Missouri. The suit also alleges Snap was aware he held multiple accounts, in violation of its own policies, including one used to target teen girls. Snap had not responded to a request for comment by Wednesday afternoon.
What Damages Are Being Sought In The Lawsuit?
The girl has reportedly been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Her parents are seeking unspecified damages and want the court to order Snap to change practices they say put children at risk.
“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,” said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Centre. “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.”
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This isn’t the first legal challenge of its kind. New Mexico sued Snap in 2024 over claims its design enables sextortion and unwanted adult contact with minors, with a judge rejecting the company’s bid to dismiss the case last year. Separate lawsuits are also pending, including one in Vermont involving two 12-year-old girls allegedly assaulted by an adult met through the app.
