Washington family sues Snapchat, says map feature enabled 12-year-old girl’s sexual exploitation

A Spokane County mother and daughter are suing Snap Inc., alleging Snapchat helped a Louisiana man sexually exploit the girl when she was 12, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Seattle. The complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, names Snap and Glenn Walter as defendants. According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana, Glenn Walter extorted child pornography from 20 boys and girls from 8 states over social media. He was booked and charged in 2024 to 58 counts of indecent behavior with a minor, child sex abuse materials, and computer aided solicitation of a minor. It alleges Snapchat recommended Walter as a connection and exposed the girl’s home address through its Snap Map location feature, which he used to threaten her into sending sexually explicit images. KING 5 News has reached out to Snapchat for comment regarding this lawsuit. The mother and daughter are seeking damages, a jury trial and a court order requiring Snap to stop practices they allege put children at risk. According to the complaint, Snapchat encouraged the girl to add Walter, then 18, in fall 2023. The two had never met and lived thousands of miles
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