Key facts
- Parents of a minor have sued Snap and an attacker in Missouri over a rape incident.
Parents of a 12-year-old girl who was raped by an adult stranger met on Snapchat have sued Snap and the attacker in Missouri. The lawsuit alleges the company's app design facilitated the predator's access to the minor and failed to warn about dangers.
This lawsuit highlights ongoing concerns about child safety on social media platforms and the potential liability of companies for the harms facilitated by their app designs and features.
Parents of a 12-year-old girl who was raped by an adult stranger she met on Snapchat have filed a lawsuit against the social media company and the attacker in Missouri state court. The suit, filed Wednesday, claims Snap's app design made it easy for the predator, Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, to connect with and manipulate the minor, and that the company failed to warn users and parents about potential harms.
According to the lawsuit, the girl, identified as J.F., began using Snapchat at age 11 without her parents' knowledge, bypassing the platform's 13-year-old age minimum. Valentin-Rios, a 25-year-old man, was allegedly recommended to J.F. and other teen girls through the app's friend suggestion feature. The lawsuit states that after connecting, Valentin-Rios sent unsolicited nude photographs and groomed the girl, eventually convincing her to meet him in person, leading to her rape. The suit also claims the app provided the girl's location to Valentin-Rios without her knowledge.
Valentin-Rios has pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year prison sentence in Missouri. The lawsuit alleges Snap was aware that Valentin-Rios maintained multiple accounts, which is against app policy, and used them to lure teen girls. J.F. has been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a result of the assault.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages and are asking the court to compel Snap to discontinue practices that endanger children. Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, stated that Snap executives have long been aware of the platform's vulnerabilities to predators but have failed to implement adequate safety measures. This lawsuit follows similar legal actions against Snap, including one filed by New Mexico in 2024 and pending individual lawsuits in Vermont, all alleging that the platform's design fosters exploitation of minors.