Officers arrested Simon Flores, a 29-year-old Newberry resident, Wednesday morning on charges of possessing and soliciting child pornography.
The Alachua County Sheriff's Office received a tip Oct. 2 that Flores threatened to commit a mass shooting via Instagram direct messages. According to the arrest report, he later used the platform to exchange sexually explicit material with a minor.
Law enforcement obtained Flores’ message history Oct. 3 from Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram.
The arrest report said the threatening texts began Sept. 18, when Flores wrote “I’ve been feeling so dark and depressed lately. I want to do a mass shooting.”
The same day, he reportedly started messaging another Instagram user, saying he wanted to have sexual encounters with underage women.
On Sept. 26, Flores began exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 15-year-old. He reportedly sent a nude image to the Instagram user and asked them to do the same.
ACSO officers used a federal search warrant to enter Flores’ home Wednesday and arrested him on charges of obscene communication and possession of child pornography.
Contact Natalie Kaufman at nkaufman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @Nat_Kauf.
Natalie Kaufman is a sophomore journalism student and the Alligator's Fall 2024 Metro General Assignment reporter. In her free time, she likes drinking copious amounts of caffeine and running.
