Parents Sue Snap Over Daughter’s Rape Case

The parents of a 12-year-old girl, who was raped by a stranger she connected with on Snapchat, are taking legal action against Snap Inc. and the perpetrator in a Missouri state court.

A lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims that the social media giant neglected to disable dangerous features on the app or provide warnings to parents about potential risks associated with its use.

According to the complaint, the girl began using Snapchat secretly in 2021 at just 11 years old, without her parents’ knowledge.

The app, which mandates users to be at least 13 to register, allegedly allowed the girl to bypass this rule. The complaint highlights that she didn’t accurately recall the birth date she entered and knew children could easily circumvent age restrictions.

Approximately a year after she started using the app, she was connected to Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, an adult with no prior relationship to her, who was presented as a potential friend. This connection reportedly put her and other teenage users in harm’s way.

The complaint suggests Snapchat did not adequately warn users about the dangers of interacting with strangers. After developing a relationship with Valentin-Rios, the girl began receiving unsolicited explicit images from him.

The girl felt pressured and initially resisted these advances; however, she struggled to avoid such content because of how Snapchat was designed. Additionally, due to the app’s Snap Map feature, her home address became accessible to Valentin-Rios without her knowledge.

Valentin-Rios manipulated the girl into believing he was a local high school student, presenting himself as 17 years old rather than revealing his actual age of 25.

Ultimately, he raped her during an in-person encounter.

Valentin-Rios has since pled guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year sentence in Missouri.

The complaint alleges that Snapchat was aware of Valentin-Rios’s multiple accounts, which he used to lure minors, even though this violated their policies.

In response, Snap expressed its commitment to user safety, stating that it has spent years developing safeguards, collaborating with experts, and working alongside law enforcement to combat misuse of the platform.

The girl is reported to be suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and depression as a result of the incident.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages, along with a request for court intervention to force Snap to cease practices that endanger children.

Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which represents the plaintiffs, emphasized that the assault resulted from Snapchat’s design that allows predators to exploit vulnerable children. He argues that Snap has long known about these issues but has failed to secure its platform effectively.

This lawsuit isn’t Snap’s first encounter with legal challenges. In 2024, New Mexico took legal action against the company, accusing it of facilitating sextortion, sexual abuse, and other harms to minors. The lawsuit pointed out that Snap was aware of the rampant issues but did not notify parents or users about the ongoing risks.

Furthermore, separate lawsuits are currently active against Snap, including one in Vermont involving two 12-year-old girls who were also assaulted by an adult they met on the app.