Man charged for requesting nude photos from teenager online, Rock Hill police say
A 28-year-old man is facing charges for requesting nude photos from a 14-year-old girl through Facebook, according to a Rock Hill police report.
Miguel Aviliz Cruz has been charged with harassment and two counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor, for allegedly sending social media messages to an underage female in November, the report states.
Mark Bollinger, public information officer for the Rock Hill police department, said Cruz told the 14-year-old girl through Facebook that he wanted to have sex with her. He also threatened to post nude photos of the girl online and requested the girl send him nude photos, Bollinger said.
The girl told police she had taken nude photos in the past, but did not send any pictures to Cruz, the report says.
Police located and arrested Cruz at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at a Rock Hill residence, the report states. He also was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor.
Online safety
Teenagers should do their research before messaging or accepting any friend requests from someone on social media, said Rock Hill detective Kris Quate.
That includes searching the person’s profile, asking mutual contacts about the person and being weary of anyone they do not recognize or who has an unfamiliar profile picture, he said.
“If you don’t have any mutual contacts, can’t recognize their profile picture or the picture is obscure, there is a good chance the person is probably phishing,” Quate said.
The detective said online users should be careful of what they send to others.
“A good rule of thumb for teenagers is not to share anything with anyone online that they would not be comfortable sharing with their grandmother,” Quate said.
Parents also should remain vigilant to what their child is doing online, which can include limiting private access, knowing their child’s online passwords and setting clear guidelines and expectations for online use, he said.
“Parents are the ones who went through the teenage years and realize they don’t know it all,” Quate said. “I didn’t have a computer in the house growing up and I didn’t have a cellular device. Now you have to (be careful) digitally as well as physically. Parents need to be a little more diligent in today’s world than in my world as a teenager.”
Meeting people in person from online can be a deadly risk to take, Quate said. He said teenagers should not meet anyone they do not know.
Even if meeting someone they do know, Quate said teenagers and young adults should always communicate to their friends or parents where they are going to be and who they will be with, and should not go alone.
“There is safety and strength in numbers,” he said. “The more people you are with and who know where you are, the safer you are.”
Parents also should stress why guidelines are in place, Quate said.
“Teenagers make bad decisions,” he said. “It’s important for kids to know why parents do the things they do.”
Parent resource
Visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.missingkids.com for more information on internet-related child exploitation.
This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Man charged for requesting nude photos from teenager online, Rock Hill police say."