Three Florida Keys teenage boys were arrested after a video showing two of them engaging in sexual acts with a 12-year-old girl was shared by students, police said.
A 16-year-old from Big Pine Key faces a charge of lewd and lascivious battery. He admitted to having sex with the girl while another teen recorded it on a cellphone, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The Miami Herald/FLKeysNews.com is not naming the teens, who were identified by the sheriff’s office in a news release.
The teen who police said taped the acts is a 16-year-old from Big Pine Key. He was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious battery, obscene communication by transmitting child pornography and cruelty toward a child by promoting a performance that included a sexual act by a child.
“Detectives completed a search warrant from Snapchat to search [one teen's phone]. They found the video of [a teen] having sex with the girl using that Snapchat history."
The teen said he didn’t make the video or witness the sex acts but he knew there was a video going around school, the arrest affidavit states. However, detectives said they found nine incriminating videos saved in his Snapchat account.
A third boy, a 14-year-old from Key West, is accused of sharing the video and faces a charge of cruelty toward a child by promoting a performance that included a sexual act by a child.
The case began in April after school officials learned the video, which was made with the Snapchat app, was being shared by students and contacted the sheriff’s office.
“Detectives completed a search warrant from Snapchat to search [one teen’s phone],” said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt. “They found the video of [a teen] having sex with the girl using that Snapchat history.”
