Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Exploiting More Than 40 Girls on Snapchat, Traveling to Assault One Victim
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Virginia man pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually exploiting more than 40 minor girls on Snapchat, threatening to harm them and their families unless they produced child sexual abuse material and engaged in live sex acts on video calls, federal prosecutors announced.
Malachi Morgan Thomas, 24, of Woodbridge, entered the plea to charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 40 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 24.
According to court documents, between March 1, 2020, and Oct. 1, 2020, Thomas used a Snapchat account he had hacked and stolen from a minor to coerce at least 40 girls between the ages of 12 and 17. He directed the victims to create and send him sexually explicit images and videos, and ordered them to engage in sexually explicit conduct during live video calls.
Thomas told victims he led a criminal organization and promised safety if they obeyed him. To coerce compliance, he threatened to hack their accounts or harm them and their family members. Prosecutors said Thomas was aware that several victims suffered from anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, and that many had previously been victims of sexual abuse. In at least one instance, Thomas knew the victim was in foster care.
On June 6, 2020, Thomas flew to another state and traveled to a victim’s home, where he engaged in sex with the girl and recorded the assault on his Snapchat account. Police discovered the abuse after seizing one of Thomas’ cell phones during an investigation into an unrelated altercation.
On July 9, 2020, Thomas traveled to Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge to meet another victim he had exploited on Snapchat. Instead of the victim, the girl’s father appeared at the mall after learning of Thomas’ actions. Police seized Thomas’ phone when they responded to the incident.
On Oct. 1, 2020, Fairfax County Police arrested Thomas on charges of rape and sodomy of two minors in Fairfax County. With support from Prince William County Police, investigators searched Thomas’ residence in Woodbridge and found a second phone containing dozens of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including recordings of his sexual assaults of the two Fairfax County victims.
“Thomas preyed on vulnerable victims across several states using social media apps to expand his sprawling reach to abuse young girls and threaten harm to them and their families,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Harm to America’s children has no place in our communities.”
Florida Man Sentenced to 27 Years for Brutal Sex Trafficking of Two Women
DAYTONA, Fla. – A Florida man was sentenced Thursday to 327 months in federal prison for using violence, threats, and a firearm to force two women into commercial sex, then keeping all the money they earned, the Justice Department announced.
Delon Richard Smith, 47, of Daytona, pleaded guilty in October 2025 to two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of conspiracy to commit the same. He was also ordered to pay the two victims $4,800 in restitution.
According to court documents, Smith recruited the two women separately in 2021 and 2022, offering them narcotics and an opportunity to make money. He posted online commercial sex advertisements featuring one victim’s photographs, then transported both women to various locations in the Daytona Beach area to meet buyers.
Smith kept all proceeds from the sex acts and routinely inflicted severe physical harm to force the victims to continue. He regularly punched and choked the women while talking about his membership in the Bloods gang to threaten and coerce them.
On one occasion, to punish a victim for not bringing in enough money, Smith discharged a firearm and pressed the hot barrel of the weapon against her face. In another instance, when one victim left a hotel room without his explicit permission, Smith struck her in the head with the butt of a gun and dragged her back to his car by her hair.
“This sentence reflects the abhorrent acts of violence the defendant used to exploit the victims for his own personal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Commercial sex trafficking depends on the systematic dehumanization of its victims and debasing victims by treating them as commodities.”
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida said, “The manipulation and brutality used by the defendant in this case against his victims was egregious and reprehensible.”
Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley of the FBI Jacksonville Field Office added, “Sex trafficking is a violent crime, not a business. This defendant deliberately used force and coercion to control and exploit vulnerable women to line his own pockets.”
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Promoting Child Sexual Abuse Material on Dark Web
NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey man was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in federal prison for using the dark web to promote child sexual abuse material, encouraging other users to share images, and discussing the use of hidden cameras to spy on girls in showers and toilets, federal prosecutors announced.
Declan Golden, 39, of Middletown Township, was also ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release following his prison term. He pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of promoting material containing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.
According to court documents, between October 2020 and January 2023, Golden accessed a website on the Tor network — an anonymity-focused part of the internet — that encouraged users to post and trade child sexual abuse material. On the site, Golden created numerous posts related to voyeurism and the sexual exploitation of children, while actively encouraging other users to share images with him.
Golden also posted links for other users to access images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In his posts, he made statements about using a “spycam” on girls in the shower and on the toilet.
A subsequent search of his electronic devices revealed numerous videos and image files of child sexual abuse material, including depictions of prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts. During an interview with law enforcement, Golden admitted that he had been viewing child sexual abuse material since 2014.
“The defendant used the anonymity of the dark web to promote horrific material and encourage the exploitation of children,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Guatemalan Smuggler Pleads Guilty to Role in 2021 Tractor-Trailer Crash That Killed 56 Migrants in Mexico
HOUSTON – A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty Tuesday to human smuggling charges for his role in the December 2021 mass casualty event in Chiapas, Mexico, in which a tractor-trailer packed with at least 160 illegal aliens crashed, killing 56 people – including unaccompanied children – and injuring more than 100 others.
Daniel Zavala Ramos, 42, also known as “Dany ZR,” admitted in federal court that he conspired with other smugglers to transport undocumented adults and unaccompanied minors from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States, according to a factual summary entered into the record.
Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators recruited Guatemalan aliens, collected payments, and arranged for the migrants to travel by foot, inside microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers. In some cases, the smugglers provided scripted language for unaccompanied minors to use if apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities.
On Dec. 9, 2021, Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators arranged for the aliens they were smuggling to be loaded into a tractor-trailer that was to transport them through Mexico. The vehicle crashed north of the Guatemala-Mexico border near Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, resulting in 56 deaths and more than 100 injuries, some very serious.
Zavala Ramos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring and attempt to bring an undocumented alien to the United States, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury, and resulting in death. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 7.
He was extradited from Guatemala to the United States in 2025 to face charges.
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