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.”