A man in New York was arrested and charged with sexual exploitation of three minors throughout the country, after an investigation started by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
(1/2) An investigation that started through the Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s (#CCSOFL) ICAC unit spread to additional agencies which led to the arrest of a man who was indicted on three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
— Clay County Sheriff's Office, FL (@ccsofl) June 15, 2020
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York released information about the arrest that utilized the Department of Homeland Security, the Putnam County sheriff’s Office and the Longview Police Department in Longview, Texas.
The New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations took into custody Jonathan Weiss, who is charged with communicating with three different underage victims online and asking them to take sexually explicit images of themselves to send to Weiss.
Utilizing the Snapchat name “Ian_Jameson,” Weiss communicated online with three different 13-year-olds, asking each to send him explicit photos.
One of the victims was allegedly from Clay County, according to authorities with the Department of Homeland Security.
News4Jax has also learned of a Jacksonville man charged after allegedly meeting a 14-year-old girl on Snapchat and then meeting her for sex.
Investigators say 32-year-old Francisco Nicolas who lives on the Westside contacted the 14-year-old girl on Snapchat and identified himself as a man in his 20s. They then met at the Orange Park Mall and went to a nearby hotel and had sex, according to authorities.
News4Jax stopped by Nicolas’ home Monday and he declined to comment.
Cybersecurity expert Chris Hamer said while you can use anonymous names on Snapchat he does say with a subpoena in criminal investigations law enforcement can often track you down.
“And they just have the littlest amount of, a shred of information,” Hamer said. “And the providers are more than capable of using that to not only pull out whatever credentials were used to create the account, IP addresses from where it was last accessed. All of its chat logs and everything else.”
In the case of the Jacksonville suspect Francisco Nicolas, he’s listed as working at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in downtown Jacksonville. News4Jax contacted the restaurant which confirmed he did work there but didn’t offer any other comment.