New Mexico’s top prosecutor announced charges Wednesday against three men for allegedly using Meta’s social media platform to target and solicit underage children for sex.
The arrests are the result of a months-long undercover investigation in which the suspects were linked to decoy accounts set up by the state Department of Justice. The investigation began in December, when the state filed a civil lawsuit against the social media giant, alleging that Meta failed to take basic precautions to keep children safe on its platform. .
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New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres said at a news conference Wednesday that the suspects exchanged sexually explicit material through the Facebook Messenger app and clearly showed a sexual interest in children. .
“For us, we are very concerned about how easily these individuals were able to discover the secret personas that were created,” Torrez said. “And frankly, I think this is a wake-up call for all of us to understand how serious this kind of threat is.”
He placed the blame on Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and suggested the company was putting profits ahead of those of parents and children.
New Mexico’s top prosecutor announced charges against three men for allegedly using Meta’s social media platform to target and solicit sex from underage children.
“For those of us who are in this job, we’re just tired of the rhetoric,” he said. “We are disgusted by the assurances that have been given to community members, MPs and policy makers that all reasonable steps are being taken to ensure this type of behavior does not occur. .”
Meta disputes the allegations and said Wednesday that it uses technology to prevent suspicious adults from finding or interacting with children and teens on its apps and is cooperating with law enforcement. It reiterated that it is investigating and prosecuting criminals.
The company also said it employs child safety experts, reports content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and shares information and tools with other companies to root out predators. .
“This is an ongoing battle, with determined criminals evolving their tactics across platforms to evade protections,” Mehta said in an emailed statement.
The state attorney general’s office will continue to work to identify child predators, but it’s too early to tell whether that work will affect civil litigation, Torrez said.
As part of the lawsuit, New Mexico prosecutors discovered internal documents in which Meta employees estimate that about 100,000 children are sexually harassed on the Meta platform every day. It was announced that.
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The three defendants in the criminal case were identified as Fernando Clyde, Marlon Kellywood, and Christopher Reynolds. Prosecutors are seeking to detain them pending trial on charges including solicitation of children by electronic communication devices.
A hearing has not yet been scheduled, and court records do not list attorneys who could speak on behalf of Mr. Clyde and Mr. Kellywood. A message was left with the public defender’s office representing Reynolds.
