INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. — A Minnesota man’s federal indictment for child exploitation is leading to a call for action from federal investigators.
The charges against Samuel Snell of Inver Grove Heights are disturbing and they highlight the risks for children on the social platform, Discord.
A witness sent WCCO pictures of the raid, saying they saw the SWAT team descending on the home, and seizing computers.
The Department of Justice says Snell was messaging with minors in channels, or chat rooms, with names like “Fun Time Kitty Klub” and “Pretty Kitty Hangout.”
The DOJ says Snell solicited sexual images from those children, sometimes with the intent to groom them.
Authorities say he took minors to a hotel and paid them for sex at least twice.
The DOJ sent a report to Congress last year that called child exploitation a public health crisis, saying there are more victims and more offenders than ever before.