VALDOSTA — A Virginia man has been arrested, accused of sharing explicit images with a young girl in Lowndes County, authorities said Friday.
On June 21, a woman told police she had seen inappropriate material on her 7-year-old niece’s telephone, including sexually explicit photographs from an adult male sent to her niece as well as photos from the niece sent to the male, a Valdosta Police Department statement said.
When the woman questioned the niece, the child said she met the man through a smartphone app called “Monkey Cool.”
According to the Google Play website, Monkey Cool is a random video chat app that makes it “easy to meet new people and make new friends online” and was reportedly created by five teenagers in Los Angeles.
Police began working with the Child Advocacy Center, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children unit and the Fairfax County, Va., ICAC unit. Detectives identified the suspect as a man living in Springfield, Va., the statement said.
Lowndes detectives obtained arrest warrants against Kyle Flores, 22, of Fairfax, Va., for felony obscene Internet contact with a child, felony sexually explicit conduct of a minor, felony child molestation and felony furnishing obscene material to a minor, the police statement said.
The Fairfax County, Va., Police Department served the arrest warrants on Flores; he is being held in Fairfax County awaiting extradition to Lowndes County, police said.
“This was outstanding teamwork by numerous agencies to get this sexual predator into custody. If your children have smartphones, please pay attention to the apps that they have on their phones. If you see the Monkey Cool app, know that it is being used by sexual predators to find child victims and you need to contact law enforcement. Keep monitoring your children’s phones and know what apps they have access to,” said Police Chief Leslie Manahan.
Those with information on this case should contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.