A UF student was arrested Thursday on charges of solicitation and possesion of child pornograpy after reportedly using Snapchat to communicate with minors.
Officers from the Gainesville Police Department arrested Nathan Lewis, 20, on Thursday after a tip was first received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on May 31.
After a search warrant was received from Snapchat on Aug. 16, officers found Lewis had sent sexual content of himself in five chats to minors ranging in age from 13 to 15. According to the arrest report, Lewis had received sexual content from the minors in two of the five chats.
After the Snapchat users identified themselves as minors in numerous chats, Lewis allegedly replied he was “19 but [you] can be younger.”
Between March 1 and May 1, GPD found Lewis had sent over 250 sexual images of himself across five separate chats, according to the arrest report. He reportedly received over 70 images from minors across two of the chats.
A search warrant was executed Thursday at Lewis’ residence.
Lewis told police he no longer uses Snapchat because it was a “huge distraction.” He said he was severely depressed and lonely during the Spring semester and sought interaction with others.
Lewis was charged with six counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor, two counts of solicitation of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography. He was also charged for utilizing his cell phone to commit the alleged crime.
Contact Bailey Diem at bdiem@alligator.org. Follow her on X @BaileyDiem.
Bailey Diem is the Fall 2024 Metro Editor at The Alligator. She spent previous semesters reporting for The Alligator's University and Metro desks. In her free time, Bailey enjoys playing guitar or getting lost in a book.
