20-year-old Tristan Todd Larson of North Logan, Utah, was arrested this past week for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl. Larson is said to have posed as a classmate of the victim on Snapchat asking the victim if she wanted to come over.
When the victim arrived at Larson’s home, Larson reportedly grabbed her into the apartment, tied a bandana around her mouth to silence her and pushed down the hallway to the bedroom where he raped her. The victim was able to identify Larson since Larson and the victim had mutual acquaintances.
When interviewed by police, Larson initially denied the victim was in his apartment until investigators told him that the girl was able to identify multiple details of his apartment. It was at this point that Larson was said to invoke his right to an attorney. He is currently being held without bail.
Previously I used to tell parents to make sure that their kids can identify everyone on their friends list as someone they know in real life. However, even then, those people might not be who they say they are. While 13 is the minimum age allowed on many social media networks and apps, thanks to opportunistic scumbags like this, 13 is nowhere near a safe age for apps like Snapchat.
(Sources)
Deseret News
FOX 13
ABC4
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 