{"id":2620449,"date":"2026-06-28T10:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-sue-snapchat-alleging-its-responsibility-for-12-year-olds-rape\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T10:53:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:53:55","slug":"parents-sue-snapchat-alleging-its-responsibility-for-12-year-olds-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-sue-snapchat-alleging-its-responsibility-for-12-year-olds-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents Sue Snapchat Alleging Its Responsibility For 12-Year-Old&#8217;s Rape"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fparents-sue-snapchat-alleging-its-responsibility-for-12-year-olds-rape%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2620449&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disturbing-claims-against-kansas-city-chiefs-star-surface-on-social-media\/\" title=\"Disturbing Claims Against Kansas City Chiefs Star Surface on Social Media\">news article reports<\/a> that parents in Missouri have filed a lawsuit against Snapchat\u2019s parent company, Snap, claiming the platform contributed to their 12-year-old daughter\u2019s sexual assault. The lawsuit alleges that Snapchat\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-is-an-american-legal-giant\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Is an American Legal Giant\">design features<\/a>, such as recommending connections and enabling location tracking via Snap Maps, facilitated the predator&#8217;s access and exploitation. The girl, who began using Snapchat at age 11 despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-lee-leads-fight-asking-cdc-why-children-forced-to-wear-masks\/\" title=\"Mike Lee Leads Fight Asking CDC Why Children Forced To Wear Masks\">minimum age requirement<\/a>, was lured by a man posing as a 17-year-old, leading to her being persuaded to meet him in person, where she was assaulted. The attacker, Gabriel Joel Valentin-rios, is now serving an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-should-pardon-d-c-s-good-cops-victimized-by-doj\/\" title=\"Trump Should Pardon D.C.&#039;s Good Cops ...ized By DOJ\">18-year prison sentence<\/a> for statutory rape. The lawsuit also accuses Snapchat of failing to disable harmful features despite knowing their dangers, and references broader concerns, including a recent investigation by New Mexico\u2019s Attorney General highlighting Snapchat\u2019s role in facilitating sextortion and sexual abuse. Multiple legal actions are ongoing against the company over these issues.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Parents of a Missouri teenager sued Snapchat\u2019s parent company, Snap, Wednesday alleging the platform bears some responsibility for their 12-year-old daughter\u2019s rape.Social Media Victims Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs alleging that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >social media company<\/a> has refused to disable dangerous features or warn parents of the harm they could cause, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/snap-sued-rape-minor-adult-attacker-snapchat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to CBS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis assault did not happen in a vacuum- it happened because Snapchat\u2019s product design made it easy for a predator to reach out and manipulate an unsuspecting child,\u201d Matthew Bergman, founder of Social Media Victims Law Center said, according to the outlet. \u201cSnap executives have long known that their features create a perfect environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to make the platform safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Snapchat did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>The minor victim, referred to by the initials J.F. in the lawsuit, began using Snapchat in 2021 when she was 11 years old. The app requires users to be at least 13, however, the girl could not remember the date she used to bypass the age requirement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox5dc.com\/news\/parents-sue-snap-after-12-year-old-daughter-was-raped-adult-man-she-met-snapchat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to Fox5.<\/p>\n<p>A year later, Snapchat allegedly began recommending defendant Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios to the victim and her friends \u2014 even though they did not have any connections with him in real life. After becoming friends on the app, Valentin-Rios began sending unsolicited nudes to the victim, the lawsuit stated, according to CBS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJ.F. did not want these photographs and, at first, did not reciprocate but Snapchat\u2019s design product made it impossible for J.F. to avoid such explicit content,\u201d the lawsuit says, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>J.F. has since been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and PTSD, the lawsuit states, CBS reported.<\/p>\n<p>Valentin-Rios convinced the victim he was a local 17-year-old high school student, while actually being 25, and used snap maps to locate the address of the victim without her knowledge, according the outlet. After Valentin-Rios coaxed J.F. into meeting him in person, he raped her.<\/p>\n<p>Snap maps is a feature on snapchat that allows people who are friends on the app to see the real-time location of each other, Fox 5 reported.<\/p>\n<p>Valentin-Rios pled guilty to statuary rape and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in Missouri, CBS reported.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit claims that the defendant had multiple accounts, one of which he used to lure teen girls, according to Fox 5. The Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages and a call for Snap to stop practices that are harming children.<\/p>\n<p>Snapchat was sued by New Mexico in 2024 for alleging that the company had features that allow sextortion, sexual abuse, and unwanted contact between adults and minors, CBS reported.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez said in a 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/nmdoj.gov\/press-release\/attorney-general-raul-torrez-files-lawsuit-against-snap-inc-to-protect-children-from-sextortion-sexual-exploitation-and-other-harms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">press release<\/a> that his office\u2019s \u201cundercover investigation revealed that Snapchat\u2019s harmful design features create an environment where predators can easily target children through sextortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several individual lawsuits are also pending against the company, one of which involves sexual assault, according to CBS.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. 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