A youth pastor and a foster parent used an app to meet children and sexually assault them, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.
Both men face charges including human trafficking for commercial sexual activity, lewd or lascivious battery and use of computer to solicit illegal acts, according to a news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Moises Reiniery Escoto, 36, a youth pastor, on Feb. 9 after he was accused of soliciting sexual photos and videos from a teen he met on an app, the release says.
Detectives began investigating after the 16-year-old’s mother found “disturbing content” on the teen’s phone, the release says.
Detectives found that Escoto had met the teen two years prior on an app called Sniffies, the release says. The app describes itself as a “map-based meetup app” that can be used with an account or anonymously, according to its website.
After meeting the teen, Escoto solicited “sexually explicit pictures and videos in exchange for money and gifts,” deputies said.
He was also meeting with the teen and “engaging in sexual acts,” the release says.
Contact information for Sniffies could not be found. Its website says users must be 18 or older to use the app.
A message left at the Tampa church where the sheriff’s office said Escoto served as a youth pastor was not returned.
Escoto is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail on a $138,500 bond, according to Hillsborough County Jail records.
During their investigation, detectives found another man they said had met a child on the Sniffies app and “engaged in sexual acts with (the) child in exchange for money,” the release says.
Deputies identified the suspect as Joel Ricky Lutz, 38, who is a registered foster parent, according to the release.
Authorities arrested Lutz on Feb. 15 at the Outback Steakhouse in Pinellas County where he worked, the release says.
He is being held on a $280,500 bond.
The Florida Department of Children and Families said in a statement that Lutz is not currently licensed as a foster parent.
“The Department is deeply disturbed by the allegations brought forth,” the statement says. “(The Department of Children and Families) will assist law enforcement in their current investigation as needed.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement that both of the men arrested were meant to be mentors for young people in the community.
“It is absolutely disgusting that these two men, who were placed in positions of mentorship and trust with children in our community, used online apps to seek out and victimize our youth,” the statement says. “Unfortunately, we know that predators are constantly on the hunt to ruin the innocence of our community. I urge parents to know where and what their children are doing online at all times.”
Lutz is charged with:
- Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity with a victim less than 18
- Lewd or lascivious battery
- Use of computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts
- Traveling to meet minor after using computer services to solicit certain illegal acts
- Use of computer services for lewd or lascivious exhibition
- Unlawful use of a two-way communications device
- Two counts of transmission of harmful material to minor
Escoto is charged with:
- Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity with a victim less than 18
- Use of computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts
- Traveling to meet minor after using computer services to solicit certain illegal acts
- Use of computer services for lewd or lascivious exhibition
- Transmission of harmful material to minor
- Unlawful use of a two-way communications device
- Lewd or lascivious battery
- Unlawful sexual activity with a minor
- Criminal disclosure
- Resisting an officer without violence
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 2:19 PM.