TACOMA, Wash. — A 32-year-old man from La Center, Washington, was sentenced for a scheme to steal private photos from more than 170 victims by posing as Snapchat tech support, according to a release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Dylan Rex was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 10 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release.
Between July 2020 and March 2023, prosecutors say Rex hacked into social media accounts to steal intimate media and enticed a mother to record the sexual abuse of her own child.
He reportedly used false phone numbers and email addresses to pose as a member of the Snapchat tech support team.
To bypass security, Rex would tell victims to change their passwords, then lock them out of their accounts and steal their private images and videos, the DOJ said.
Many of the files were then circulated online.
On March 29, 2023, Investigators discovered more than 600 images of child sexual abuse material stored on eight different devices after law enforcement officers searched Rex’s home and seized several digital devices.
“What Dylan Rex did was calculated, cruel, and downright depraved,” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division Ted E. Dock said. “With today’s sentence, he’s been held accountable for his crimes, and will be locked away, where he can’t victimize anyone else.”
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