An Indianapolis man is in custody after engaging in sexually oriented communications with a Portage girl, 12, via the Snapchat app, police said in a release.
Daniel Roberts, 31, has been charged with three counts of vicarious sexual gratification, a Level 4 felony; eight counts of child solicitation, a Level 5 felony; and four counts of possession of child pornography, a Level 6 felony, according to a release from the Portage Police Department.
This relationship came to light after the child spoke with a school counselor and her phone had been provided to police for examination by a parent.
“It was clear in the conversations with the victim that Mr. Roberts was aware the person he was speaking with was a child and he encouraged her to commit sexual acts and provide him with pornographic images,” police said in the release.
Preservation letters were served to Snapchat, which cooperated with the investigation, and they provided identifying information for the account holder which led investigators to a home in the 8300 block of Goldfinch Circle in Indianapolis. In addition to the arrest warrant for Roberts, police also obtained a search warrant for the home.
On Sept. 3, Portage Police detectives, along with officers of the Fishers Police Department and members of the Indiana Cybercrimes Against Children Task Force, proceeded to the home located in the jurisdiction of the Fishers Police Department to execute the warrants.
Roberts was found outside and he fled from officers on foot. He was chased down and taken into custody after police deployed a stun gun, police said.
Portage Police detectives recovered several electronic storage devices from the residence believed to contain additional evidence of crimes against children.
Police transported Roberts to the Porter County Jail, where he is being held on $70,000 bond. Roberts is wanted in Jefferson County, Colorado for probation violation on charges of felony sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted felony sexual assault of a child, police said.
Roberts had an initial hearing Thursday before Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish, where he was granted a public defender and preliminary pleas of not guilty were entered into the record, according to an online court docket.