TYLER, Texas (KETK) — An East Texas man was arrested on Oct. 10 after a monthslong investigation revealed he had exploited a minor for sexual acts and was using Snapchat to sell videos of child pornography of minors as young as 6 years old.
Mugshot of Samuel Leal Vega, courtesy of the Smith County Jail.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence on County Road 486 in reference to a sexual assault of a child. The caller, identified as the father of the victim, told officials he needed to make a report after his son was sexually harassed earlier this year.
The father informed the deputies that his son had added a user he believed to be a woman on Snapchat in December 2024. As time went on, his son sent nude pictures to this user in exchange for nude images from her; however, instead of sending what was expected, the user sent random pictures of various unrelated things.
The user is accused of demanding sexual favors from the minor in exchange for not posting the explicit pictures on social media. In fear of his pictures “going viral,” the caller’s son complied with the user and sent him his home address. The user met with the victim late December 2024 or the beginning of January 2025, the affidavit stated, where the victim described the suspect as a light-skinned Hispanic man.
The victim was forced to receive sexual performances from the suspect and pleaded with the suspect to delete the pictures, which he did. However, the victim later found out that the man still had copies saved elsewhere. The suspect then continued to demand more sexual favors from the victim.
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In August, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the Snapchat user’s account and found additional media and found the user to have child pornography he was using to sell. Videos depicted minors, including children between the ages of 6 through 12.
Investigators identified the suspect, Samuel Vega, through other images found on his Snapchat account. He was arrested on Oct. 10 for possession with intent to promote child pornography and for the sexual assault of a child. An additional charge was added on Tuesday for online solicitation of a minor under the age of 14.
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