Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
SANTA CLARA, Washington County — A Nevada man was arrested in Reno Friday after an arrest warrant was issued accusing him of traveling to Utah to pay a young teen girl to model for him and then sexually abusing her.
Thomas John Snyder, 43, of Reno, is charged in 5th District Court with rape, sodomy on a child and sexual abuse of a child, first-degree felonies; and dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony.
Investigators say there is evidence Snyder may have committed similar crimes in other states.
The investigation began in March when a woman reported to police that she found evidence on her 13-year-old daughter's Instagram account that she may have engaged in sexual activity with an older man. Detectives conducted a data search of the girl's phone and found sexually explicit messages from Snyder, according to charging documents.
Police also found internet searches on the girl's phone from February such as, "Are sugar daddies illigal?" and "Is a weird kid loving creep illigal," according to charging documents.
On March 28, the girl was interviewed by police. She "stated a male 'Tom' on Instagram asked if she could model for him," the charges state. "Tom told her they would go to a hotel, he would take pictures and give her $500."
Snyder drove from Reno and took the girl to a St. George motel where he attempted to take pictures, and ended up putting handcuffs on the girl and sexually assaulting her, the charges allege. The two also met a second time and only pictures were taken, according to investigators. Snyder and the girl later blocked each other on Instagram, but police say he searched her name on the day officers were contacted.
The girl told detectives that Snyder's distinguishable look included a neon green mohawk-like haircut, a nose piercing, a "rectangle thing" tattoo above one eye and tattoos of three vertical lines below the other eye, according to the charges.
Police served a warrant on Snyder's Instagram account and also found a conversation with a 16-year-old Missouri girl in August in which he offers her money in exchange for him to drive to her and take nude pictures, the charges state. Police reported finding additional videos and pictures of a young girl.
Snyder's Instagram account "shows he has had several conversations with young women offering to pay for photographs and pay additionally if he can touch them or do explicit sexual acts with them," according to the charging documents, which add: "Thomas Snyder is an active threat to young women, not only in the Washington County area, but across the nation."
Police in Reno arrested him Friday night. Santa Clara police drove to Reno and interviewed Snyder Saturday and said they plan to seek to have him extradited to Utah to face the charges.
