Police arrest suspect in child porn video that went viral
A man has been charged with sexually abusing three underage girls across two states after a video of one alleged encounter spread across the world via social media.
Germain Moore, 44, of Detroit turned himself in at a police station outside Birmingham, Ala., early Tuesday after his mug shot and name were splashed across news sites and police bulletins as a suspect in the dissemination of the video that has spread as far as France. The video allegedly shows a child performing a sex act on Mr. Moore.
Law enforcement agencies across the country have warned against sharing the explicit video, a problem that has emerged as social media has made spreading videos easier and faster than ever before, often without considering the impact on victims and police investigations or the legal ramifications.
The public’s attempts to identify the suspect by sharing the video slow efforts to track down real perpetrators, Tony Garrett, the executive director of the nonprofit Central Alabama CrimeStoppers, told The Washington Post.
The victim also may be revictimized as more people see the crime, Madison County chief trial attorney Tim Gann told citizens.
“You’re disseminating child porn, and that’s a felony … it’s an awful thought that people can’t understand that that’s wrong,” he said. “To have it blasted over social media — it shocks the conscience, for me. It really does.”
Wayne County, Mich., prosecutor Kym Worthy brought eight charges against Mr. Moore, alleging the assault occurred against his nieces, who are now age 9to-12 years old, during a sixyear span ending in 2017. He is expected to be extradited, assistant prosecutor Maria Miller told the Post in a statement. Mr. Moore has not yet been arraigned for the charges that include child sexual abuse and use of a computer to transmit pornographyinvolving children. He could be sent to prison for decadesif convicted.
Ms. Miller added that prosecutors believe Mr. Moore preyed on his nieces while their mother worked, and committed the abuse at his mother’s home in Detroit and his own home in Alabama. Mr. Moore faces 11 felony charges in both Alabama and Michigan, AL.com reported, with potentially more forthcoming. His fiance Tonya Hardy was arrested and will be charged with hindering prosecution, local media reported.
In recent days, authorities have attempted to stop people from spreading the video. Police in Colorado Springs updated followers Thursday on Facebook, saying the video posted on Jan. 31 was spreading across “a multitude” of social media platforms. The girl in the video was identified and is now safe, the departmentsaid.
The amplification of the video has already led to one arrest, with more possibly coming. Montgomery Police arrested Jerrell Washington, 42, with one count each of possession and dissemination of child pornography.