Whitemarsh man admits to cyber-harassment of teen

COURTHOUSE » In one of the first cases prosecuted in Montgomery County under a cyber-bullying law, a Whitemarsh Township man faced a judge for harassing a teenage girl and requesting nude photos of her, via Snapchat.

Brett Matthew Brown, 19, of the 4100 block of Dana Lane, was sentenced to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cyber-harassment of a child in connection with incidents that occurred in May.

Judge Gary S. Silow, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also said Brown is prohibited from using any social media devices during the probationary period.

“The conduct he admitted to was that he communicated with a minor via Snapchat and requested that she send intimate photographs of herself, and in doing so was harassing her,” said Deputy Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan, explaining the nature of Brown’s admission.

Brown reportedly did not personally know the victim but found her by using social media applications.

Defense lawyer Timothy Woodward declined to comment about the case.

The charge of cyberharassment of a child is a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable of up to a year in jail and $2,500 in fines, and was enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature in July 2015 to address high-tech dangers that sometimes come with the use of smartphones and social media applications.

“The Legislature passed it and it’s important because it addresses a real concern, not just in this case, but in cases of bullying, especially where individuals are making disparaging comments about others,” Ryan explained.

An investigation of Brown began May 11 when Whitemarsh police learned about a 17-year-old female student at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School being harassed via Snapchat, an image messaging mobile application popular among young people. The girl told detectives she received a Snapchat friend request from someone she did not know while she was attending class.

The user “stated that he had nude photographs of the victim and would release them” to the high school “if she did not send more nude photographs to him,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Whitemarsh Detective Gregory Lattanze.

The girl refused to send any photographs and requested the real identity of the person who contacted her but the user never revealed his identity, detectives said. At the end of the Snapchat text conversation the victim received a photo of the suspect’s exposed penis, detectives alleged.

“The entire Snapchat incident caused the victim severe annoyance and alarm,” Lattanze alleged.

The investigation determined Brown was the person who created the Snapchat account used to harass the victim.

“I think the important message to take away from this is that (the victim) recognized that the communication was inappropriate and she immediately reported it to someone that was able to help her,” Ryan said.

“If you’re a young person and you are concerned that someone is communicating with you in an inappropriate way or bullying you in any way, it’s important that you tell someone, an adult, a teacher or a friend, that will be able to help you,” Ryan added.

Another important message, Ryan said, is that authorities will use the law to prosecute those who use social media as a weapon.

“If you are caught engaging in this sort of conduct you’ll be prosecuted and held accountable,” Ryan said.

In the criminal complaint, detectives alleged the investigation revealed that Brown harassed a total of at least nine females “using the same modus operandi.”

“Brett Brown was interviewed and gave a full question and answer statement admitting to his actions and cooperated fully with the investigation,” Lattanze wrote in court documents.

Other charges of indecent exposure and corruption of a minor were dismissed against Brown as part of the plea agreement.