‘Operation MetaPhile’ catches two online predators in the act amid New Mexico’s fight against Meta platforms
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – While New Mexico’s top prosecutor is suing Facebook and Instagram claiming the platforms are putting kids in danger. The Attorney General now said an undercover operation shows how child predators are continuing to use the sites to target New Mexico children. That undercover operation had agents making profiles posing as a 12-year-old girl.
“This operation was focused on proving one specific point that is that the danger presented by Meta and its social media platforms doesn’t just exist in the virtual world it actually endangers children in the real world,” said NM Attorney General, Raúl Torrez.
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Nearly six months after the New Mexico Attorney General sued Facebook’s parent company, Meta Raúl Torrez is ramping up his criticism of social media platforms and their executives. “If we take away nothing else it’s simply this, this is Mark Zuckerberg’s fault,” said Torrez.
The comments come, as the New Mexico Department of Justice is announcing the results of what it calls “Operation MetaPhile.” A months-long online sting operation, used to find predators who are soliciting underage personas played by undercover agents.
“At no time did the the undercover agents who were posing as children on these social media platforms did they initiate any conversation about sexual contact in fact it was entirely due to the interest that was exhibited by the defendants,” said Torrez.
The fake account quickly received attention from three men including, 52-year-old Fernando Clyde, 29-year-old Marlon Kellywood, and 47-year-old Christopher Reynolds.
“These are individuals who explicitly use this platform to find and target these children,” said Torrez.
Investigators claim the men sent lewd messages to the pretend 12-year-old saying things like “I would have two sit on me” and “It will give us time to work on our kisses”.
“It’s extraordinarily concerning for us just how easily these individuals found the undercover personas that were created and it is frankly I think a wake up call,” said Torrez.
Torrez said Meta’s features are to blame.
“In each instance, the individuals who have been identified through the course of this investigation were able to find and locate these children through the design features and the algorithm that’s specifically set forth underneath these platforms,” said Torrez.
So far, Torrez said Meta has only responded to ongoing criticism from the state by saying it’s taking reasonable steps to prevent safety issues but the AG said this shows that’s not the case.
“Right now, today we could set up a brand new undercover account presented as an underage child on that platform and likely within a matter of minutes if not days that child would be inundated with sexually explicit material,” said Torrez.
Each defendant is charged with child solicitation by electronic communication device. Both Kellywood and Clyde are also charged with attempted criminal penetration of a minor.
The New Mexico DOJ said it has also published a new online practices guides for parents, click here for resources.
