A cyber tip recently led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Ocala man after he allegedly used his Snapchat account to send multiple videos depicting child pornography, including a video of a toddler being sexually abused.
On Monday, November 4, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to the arrest report, the tip was regarding a Snapchat user that had shared a video depicting a “prepubescent boy” performing oral sex on an adult man.
The report stated that during an investigation, detectives learned that the Snapchat account in question belonged to 21-year-old Om Pinanakin Patel.
On Tuesday, December 3, a search warrant was obtained for Patel’s Snapchat account, and detectives allegedly discovered numerous files of child sexual abuse material, including a video depicting a woman engaging in a sexual act with a male toddler.
A week later, on December 10, an MCSO detective made contact with Patel at his family’s business located on SW 27th Avenue. During an interview, Patel admitted to owning an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and he stated that his Snapchat account had been banned approximately two months earlier, according to the report.
Patel confirmed his Snapchat username while speaking with the detective, which matched the Snapchat account associated with the cyber tip. He also admitted to being the only user of that account.
When asked about the child sexual abuse material that was allegedly sent from his Snapchat account, Patel stated that he “had a group on WhatsApp where he was sent pornographic videos.” He further claimed that he would then send these pornographic videos to one of his friends on Snapchat, according to the report.
A detective noted in the report that the WhatsApp messaging group Patel referred to had “dozens of videos of pornography” that were shared amongst the users. Patel then allegedly told the detective that “a few [videos]” sent in the WhatsApp group depicted child pornography, though he claimed that he never watched them.
Patel further stated that he forwarded pornographic videos from the WhatsApp group to his friend on Snapchat, and he described how he had to “select each video one at a time” to send them. He allegedly recalled “possibly [seeing] two videos that depicted children” while forwarding those videos to his friend, according to the report.
While speaking with the detective, the report stated that Patel “asserted he did not believe he was distributing [pornographic] videos depicting children.”
Patel was placed under arrest and transported to Marion County jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with possession of child pornography (10 counts) and unlawful use of a two-way communication device (two counts).
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.