SnapChat

A crime watchdog has urged the Justice Department to crack down on the social media platform Snapchat, branding it the 'platform of choice for fentanyl drug dealers' seeking young customers.The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) said it's time to investigate the platform, where fake pills laced with the powerful synthetic opioid sell for $25 each and are driving a wave of overdose deaths.NCPC says Snapchat, which is popular among users aged 15-25, uses encrypted technology and its trademark disappearing messages, which both help drug dealers evade arrest and prosecution.'Drug dealers are using American innovation to sell lethal products,' Paul DelPonte, NCPC's executive director, wrote in a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it is investigating fentanyl dealing on social media sites and warns that emoji code words are used for young buyers to avoid suspicion from their parentsAlex Neville of Orange County, California, died in June of 2020 at the age of 14 after taking a fake prescription pill he purchased from a dealer he encountered on the social-media app Snapchat'In about the same amount of time it takes to read this letter, someone will die from fentanyl poisoning because they purchased a

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST - Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media's role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers.The National Crime Prevention Council sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling for an investigation. The group known for ads featuring McGruff the Crime Dog is especially concerned about the sale of fake pills laced with fentanyl on Snapchat, a popular platform among teens.“Drug dealers are using American innovation to sell lethal products,” executive director Paul DePonte wrote. “Social media platforms bear some responsibility for these deaths."Overdose deaths in the U.S. hit a record last year, with an average of one death every five minutes in the U.S. Among teens ages 10 to 19, deaths spiked 109% between 2019 and 2021, according to monthly median data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vast majority of those deaths, 84%, involved fentanyl, according to the report released last week. Dealers use many social media and money exchange platforms, sometimes in the same transactions

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media’s role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers. The National Crime Prevention Council sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The group known for ads featuring McGruff the Crime Dog is calling for an investigation into fake, fentanyl-laced pills sold on the popular teen platform Snapchat. The company says it has been working to address the national crisis in recent years will continue to do everything it can. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATIONNews Channel 3-12 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Investigators in Edmonton are looking to speak with about 100 kids who they believe may have been lured and abused by a man charged with more than a dozen sexual offences. Imesh Ratnayake, 21, was arrested in July on allegations of sexual assault, sexual interference and making and transmitting child pornography. On Tuesday, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) announced an additional 18 charges including sexual assault, luring a child and obtaining sexual services for consideration from a child. There are six known victims aged 11 to 13 years old and all are from the Edmonton area, investigators said. Additional victims may be located anywhere in the world. "There was a degree of transactional behaviour involved in these incidents," Sgt. Kerry Shima said. "Our investigative theory is that Mr. Ratnayake was luring the children using things like vapes, marijuana and alcohol." Ratnayake contacted the kids on Snapchat, Shima said. "We need parents to be on board with their kids and their applications and start talking about what these apps are used for. Have your kids teach you stuff," he suggested. "Enhancing digital literacy is a really big part of that. Sometimes when we ask our kids to teach us things

Seattle – A 27-year-old Bellingham, Washington, man appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today charged with two federal felonies related to his attempts to sexually assault a child, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.  Clayton Harker was arrested yesterday when he arrived at a Bellingham hotel believing he was going to sexually assault an 8-year-old girl.  The ‘girl’ in this case was fictitious and Harker had been communicating with undercover Homeland Security Investigation agents.  Harker is being held at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac pending further hearings. According to the criminal complaint, Harker came to the attention of law enforcement as they were investigating a different snapchat user who was pressuring young people for explicit images, claiming he wanted to pay them as “models.”  Based on the communication between that subject and the person later identified as Harker, law enforcement began investigating his online activity.  In November 2022, Harker began communicating with an undercover agent who claimed to have an 8-year-old niece Harker could molest. Harker not only communicated with that undercover agent, he also communicated with another agent who posed as the 8-year-old girl.  Harker arrived at the hotel yesterday afternoon allegedly with materials to molest the child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Chanute, Kansas, man serving with the Army National Guard was sentenced in federal court today for sexually exploiting an 11-year-old southwest Missouri victim to produce child pornography. Christian Sinclair, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 16 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Sinclair to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration. On March 2, 2022, Sinclair pleaded guilty to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child. Sinclair admitted that he used a minor to produce child pornography from Aug. 1, 2020, through June 15, 2021. According to Sinclair’s plea agreement, a captain in the Kansas National Guard contacted the Sierra Vista, Arizona, police department on June 15, 2021, while his unit was deployed to Arizona. The captain reported that Sinclair, one of the soldiers in his command, was sexting an 11-year-old child in Missouri. Sinclair’s fiancée had reported to the captain earlier the same day that she had screenshots between herself and Sinclair in which Sinclair admitted to “cheating” on her with an 11-year-old child. The child victim told investigators that she had sent Sinclair multiple pornographic videos and images of herself via Snapchat at

When police seized her personal phone they found evidence of how she had flashed her criminal wealth on Snapchat, posting pictures of wads of cash ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Todd Christopher Roatsey, 43, of Elkview, a former counselor at Pinch Elementary School in Kanawha County, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempted production of child pornography and attempted enticement of a minor. Roatsey must also pay $23,000 in restitution to his victims and register as a sex offender. According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in January 2020, Roatsey communicated via the Snapchat instant messaging application with one girl he believed to be 16 and a second female he believed also to be a minor. Roatsey admitted that he posed as an 18-year-old boy while persuading each to record and send him numerous sexually explicit videos that depicted each female masturbating. Roatsey further admitted that he sent both girls videos of himself masturbating. Roatsey also used this Snapchat account to communicate with several minor females he knew through his position as a Pinch Elementary School counselor. These communications included more than 100 Snapchat videos that Roatsey recorded while communicating with two minor females, each approximately 12 years old. One was a student at Pinch Elementary at the time. During these conversations

Skip to main contentSyosset, NYNorthport, NYOyster Bay, NYHalf Hollow Hills, NYPlainview, NYCommack, NYKings Park, NYHicksville, NYFarmingdale, NYDeer Park-North Babylon, NYNew YorkTop National NewsSee All CommunitiesHello all. Andrew Tessler here with your fresh copy of the Huntington Daily. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about what's happening locally, including updates on:Three men robbed a jewelry store in Huntington Station.Harborfields business students win Huntington Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce's 20th annual Emerging Leaders Business competition.A potential threat was made via Snapchat against Henry L. Stimson Middle School Sunday. But first, today's weather: Mostly sunny. High: 40 low: 25.Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch. Here are the top five stories today in Huntington: Three men robbed a jewelry store in Huntington Station. The men entered D Carlos Jewelry at 1547 New York Ave on Dec. 13 and stole assorted jewelry. One of the men appeared to brandish a gun and police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-221-TIPS. (Huntington Patch) Harborfields business students won Huntington Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce's 20th annual Emerging Leaders Business competition. Over 300 students participated in the competition, which was the first in-person contest in

Snapchat is one of the leading social media sites in the modern era of social media. With over 362 million active users, Snapchat ranks in the world’s top ten social media. Along with its cool and aggressive features, Snapchat allows a user to create a public profile. Though the feature publicly comes late, it is widely popular now among content creators. However, Snapchat public profile is a gateway to getting more eyeballs from other Snapchat users. In that case, you don’t know what is Snapchat public profile and how to make a public profile on Snapchat. Then look no further other than our complete tutorial. What is Snapchat Public Profile? Snapchat public profile lets you create a separate profile to share your content with a mass Snapchat audience. Previously, it was available to only specific people. But now, anyone can create a public profile to express their brand and individual impression. Like Facebook page, Instagram, and TikTok, Snapchat is also opening the door for content creators to create more content and make it enjoyable and fun. Don’t waste your time. Now create a public profile on Snapchat. Build a large community to get an enormous number of views and engagement