Angel Perez of Lakeland, FL, was arrested on September 23 after he allegedly sent a nude picture to a girl in middle school.
Perez, 22, was charged with using a computer to solicit a child and transmitting harmful material to a minor. He was ordered held on $10,000 bond. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of an attorney.
According to the Lakeland Police Department, the alleged victim received a picture on August 18 from user “jayberrios863” on Snapchat. The girl’s mother saw the picture and asked her about it. After her daughter denied knowing the user, the mother assumed her identity and continued talking to the user, the police report said.
She asked the user a series of personal questions in an attempt to get him to reveal his identity. When she asked him if he liked younger girls, the user allegedly replied “depends how old.” She also asked what school he went to, to which he purportedly replied, “Southwest Middle School.”
The mother searched for the user on her own Snapchat account and started a new conversation, police said. During that conversation, the user reportedly revealed his name was “Jeremy.” He told the mother that he worked as a barber and sent her a picture of his face. The background of that picture reportedly matched the background of the nude photo the victim had received.
The user “Jeremy” told the mother where he lived and allegedly even provided her with the names of his brother and cousin. One of the names he provided was Benjamin Carrero. The mother used Facebook to search for Carrrero’s account and see if she could find more information. Her research led her to an address in Lakeland, which she turned over to police when she reported the incident.
On September 23, police went to the address the victim’s mother had given them, and that led them to Perez’s apartment. He reportedly agreed to an interview and initially denied having any knowledge of the situation. He told police his username for Snapchat was a-perez219 and denied having another account with the username “jayberrios863.”
When shown the picture of his face that he had purportedly sent to the victim’s mother, he said it was an “old picture, from about a year ago,” according to the report. He didn’t know how the victim or the victim’s mother had received the picture, nor how they had found his home address, police said.
Police claim that Perez eventually admitted to sending a picture of his penis to a “handful” of girls. After investigators showed him copies of the conversation he had with the victim, he reportedly started to cry.
Perez allegedly said he “was lonely” and that he had sent the picture “seeking attention,” investigators noted in the arrest report.
Court records show Perez’s arrest violated the terms of his probation for another arrest in May 17 for soliciting a prostitute.
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Source: 9.26.19 Man sends photo of penis to child via Snapchat.pdf