While Snapchat is becoming creative when it comes to using the platform for hiring and advertising, people are using the platform to allegedly target teenagers.
A man used Snapchat to lure a runaway teen to Los Angeles from Australia where she joined him on a road trip to New York that included stopping to have sex across several states, according to a report by the New York Post.
Sean Price, who is 3 Â and has 40 prior arrests, met the teen through Snapchat last October. Two months later, Price sent the young girl $1,500, and she flew to California.
New York Post reports that Price knew she was underage and that did not stop him from having sex with the teenager.
Authorities notified the US law enforcement including the Department of Homeland Security. That is when law enforcement officials were able to track down Price’s mother’s home in Jamaica, Queens. Cops went there last Thursday, but his mom allegedly told them her son and the girl were not home.
Price had prior arrests including robbery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal trespass, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to the New York Post. Price was charged Friday with third-degree rape.
This news comes after Snap, Inc, the company that owns Snapchat, reported a troubling Q1 after going public. In fact, users added to Snapchat were not high enough to prove that the company could compete with Facebook. As a result, following the company’s business call shares of Snap opened 20% lower on Thursday.