On August 22, 2024, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) arrested 18-year-old Leonardo Lemos on charges related to the possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
In July 2024, the ICAC Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the upload of CSAM to Snapchat, traced to an address in Reno.
The ICAC Task Force investigated the tip and determined that all the uploads originated from the same residence. ICAC Task Force detectives served a residential search warrant at the residence, which belonged to Leonardo Lemos. During the search, Lemos’s cell phone was seized, and he was interviewed by detectives. A search warrant was also issued for Lemos’s Snapchat account, and the results confirmed the data provided by NCMEC.
The Northern Nevada Cyber Center performed a digital forensic analysis of the seized cell phone and located additional evidence, leading to Lemos’s arrest.
Lemos is currently being held at the Washoe County Detention Facility on felony charges of possession of visual pornography of a person under 16 and use of the internet to control visual pornography of a person under 16.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office spearheads the region’s fight against child exploitation by dedicating full-time resources to the ICAC task force. These cybercrime investigators collaborate closely with the Sparks Police Department, FBI, Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and Carson City Sheriff’s Office to locate and apprehend offenders responsible for exploiting children. Task force members, deputized as Special Deputy United States Marshals, extend jurisdictional reach through participation in the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.
