Snapchat Video Links Police To RI Man Now Facing Child Rape Charges

HANSON, MA — A man from Rhode Island is facing a child rape charge after police said he was seen in a Snapchat video with an underage victim.

Jared A. Soltys, 23, of Providence, was arraigned on charges of statutory rape of a child and procuring liquor for a person under 21 in a Massachusetts court Monday. He was held on a $20,000 bail and ordered to stay away from the victims and out of the towns of Hanson and Bridgewater.

In court Monday, prosecutors said that Soltys claims to have met a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old through Snapchat. Soltys is a grad student at Brown University, his defense attorney claims.

According to the Hanson Police Department, officers were alerted to the situation by another teenager who had seen the inappropriate post with the girls and the older man. Officers say that within a half-hour of the video getting posted, police were able to find Soltys and the girls near an intersection that officers had recognized from the Snapchat video around 1:30 a.m.

Hanson Police Officer Corey Arseneau said he spoke with the teenager who reported the video to police, "We did speak to that young man and explain to him the significance of what he did and that he should be proud of himself."

Hanson police officers said that two victims are involved and that Soltys was arrested on probable cause.

No additional information was immediately available.