Juan Mejia, police photoPolice charged Juan Aldair Mejia, 19, of Latham Drive in Haymarket with two counts of production of child pornography under the age of 15 and two counts of using a communication device to facilitate certain offenses involving children on Jan. 20.
In October of 2017, a Prince William County detective assigned to the Northern Virginia/DC Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was contacted by another law enforcement agency concerning an individual, later identified as the Mejia, who was soliciting a minor for inappropriate pictures over the social media app Snapchat.
"During the course of the investigation, detectives determined that the individual altered his age to coincide with that of the victims and would then have sexually explicit conversations with them through the app and over cellular text messages," said police spokesman Officer Nathan Probus.
Detectives identified four female victims, ages 12 to 14, from various parts of the country including Washington, Tennessee, Minnesota and Virginia. As part of the investigation, multiple search warrants were obtained and executed on the social media accounts belonging to the accused.
On January 17, 2018, a search warrant was executed at the residence of the accused located on Latham Drive in Haymarket where the accused was subsequently arrested without incident.
Prince William County Police would like to remind parents of the dangers of social media and to take an active role in monitoring what their children are doing online and on their cellular devices. The investigation continues.
Juan Aldair Mejia's court date is pending. He is being held without bond.
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