RENTON, Wash. — A man who was a Lyft driver has been charged with asking a teenage boy for sexual favors and explicit photos over a period of several months, allegedly in exchange for providing rides or drugs to the boy.
Documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said the mother of the 17-year-old victim contacted Renton police on Oct. 13, 2017, to report suspicious Snapchat messages she had found on her son’s phone after she took it away as a punishment for poor performance in school.
The woman told an officer that while going through her son’s phone, she found messages between her son and a Lyft driver, identified in the messages as Kevin Ross, who was later identified by authorities as Kevin Ross Maxwell, police said.
The woman told police she read messages where deals were made between Maxwell and her son where Maxwell would give the teen free Lyft rides or marijuana if he sent him nude pictures of himself, primarily his penis, probable cause documents said.
Authorities said a Renton police detective met with the woman and her son on Nov. 1, 2017. The teen did not want to talk or give a statement but agreed after his mother said it was important that Maxwell be held responsible, according to the detective.
During a recorded statement with the detective, the boy said he met Maxwell through a teenage friend who said Maxwell was willing to give him and his friends free Lyft rides, buy them alcohol with their money, or get them marijuana if they sent him pictures their genitals or videos of them having sex, according to police.
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The victim, who said he and his friends always communicated with Maxwell over Snapchat and never used the Lyft app for rides, said he and his friends would send Maxwell pictures of penises they found on Google, court documents said, in exchange for rides.
Charging documents said the activity between Maxwell and the teen happened between May 15, 2017 and August 31, 2017. He was 15 at the time when the incidents allegedly happened.
The teen told the detective he stopped communicating with Maxwell for a time after he and a friend were getting a ride from Maxwell in Bellevue some time in July 2017 when Maxwell shoved his hand down the teen’s pants and grabbed his genitals, according to charging documents.
The boy told the detective that when it happened, the car was stopped and he and his friend both jumped out of the car and promised one another they would never talk with Maxwell again, documents said.
Police said the teenager identified Maxwell from Facebook profile photos his mother found using Maxwell’s email address associated with his Snapchat account, and his Lyft driver photo visible on the Lyft app.
The Renton police detective said the victim’s mother gave her the photos of Maxwell and showed her a conversation between her son and Maxwell from July 29, 2017, where Maxwell was requesting specific kinds of pictures and videos he wanted from her son, all of which were sexual in nature.
The victim’s mother also showed the detective another sequence of messages between Maxwell and her son from Aug. 4 to 6, 2017, where Maxwell wanted “15 minutes worth of grabbing over multiple times.”
Maxwell was charged with communication with a minor for immoral purposes on May 3, 2019.
Cox Media Group
