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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Child porn files found on 22-year-old man’s devices, Snapchat account

A 22-year-old man was arrested this week after Gainesville police found multiple files depicting child pornography on his Snapchat account and electronic devices.

On Wednesday, the Gainesville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children division, along with GPD SWAT, served a search warrant at an apartment located in the 3500 block of SW 20th Avenue in Gainesville.

According to the police department, the investigation was prompted after GPD received a Cyber Tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a Snapchat account user, identified as Jantzen Lee Weaver, who was in possession of child sexual abuse material.

Jantzen Lee Weaver
Jantzen Lee Weaver

Weaver resided at the apartment that was searched, and investigators made contact with him. After being read his Miranda rights, Weaver admitted that he owned the Snapchat account that was identified in the Cyber Tip.

During the post-Miranda interview, investigators read a description of the video that had prompted the tip and subsequent investigation, and Weaver initially claimed that he did not recognize the video. GPD stated that Weaver was then shown “sanitized screenshots” from the video, and he admitted that he had uploaded and shared it with another user on Snapchat.

Weaver told investigators that he had originally found the video depicting child pornography on Twitter. He further admitted that he had viewed “between 10 and 20” child sexual abuse videos since January 2023, and he distributed them to at least one other person besides the individual from Snapchat, according to GPD.

During a search of Weaver’s electronic devices, over 40 videos depicting child pornography were located. GPD stated that investigators discovered that Weaver had viewed one of those videos the previous evening.

Weaver was arrested and transported to Alachua County Jail. He is facing felony charges for possession of child pornography (11 counts) and distribution of child pornography (one count).

Gainesville police are encouraging parents to be aware that children are being solicited and exploited through social networking and messaging apps. On its Facebook page, the Gainesville Police Department stated, “We encourage parents to have age-appropriate conversations with their children about the dangers of the internet. Please be vigilant and aware of any social networking platforms your children may access.”