The gaming console was able to locate the 14-year old girl who had been hundreds of miles away from home, with a man twice her age.

A 14-year old girl was saved by an unlikely hero: her Nintendo Switch.

Ethan Roberts was in prison in Arizona when the missing teenager, who was searched for in Virginia, was found thousands of miles away.

Roberts initially got in touch with the 14 year old in January 2022 via Omegle. This social media platform is designed to randomly connect users through one-on-one videos chats. In an FBI interview, according to The Virginian Pilot, the now 15 year-old girl revealed that, despite having told Roberts about her age, he continued to befriend the youngster online.

Roberts met the teen in Virginia and then took her to Tolleson Apartments, Arizona, where Roberts lived. According to Federal court documents, according ABC15 ,, the teen was missing for almost 11 days before the 28-year old forced her into child exploitation. Records also show that Roberts allowed the teen to bring along a Nintendo Switch -- its digital fingerprint ultimately saving her.

After law enforcement and volunteers exhausted their local search, a friend noticed that the girl had been online on her Switch. She immediately notified authorities.

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The FBI tracked the IP address of the Switch, which led them to Robert's home where they found him and the girl. A press release by the Eastern District in Virginia states that he was arrested and later indicted on charges such as child pornography. In April 2023, he was sentenced for 30 years at a federal prison after accepting a plea bargain.

Forbes, quoted a spokesperson from Omegle as saying "Users are solely responsible for the behavior they display while using the site."

The statement continued, "Omegle has implemented content moderating services using both AI tools as well as human moderatorsm." "Content flagged by Omegle as illegal, inappropriate, or in violation with its policies may lead to various actions, including reporting to the appropriate law enforcement agencies."

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Title: Missing Teen Exploited for Child Pornography Located Thanks to Nintendo Switch
Sourced From: www.toofab.com/2023/07/17/missing-teen-exploited-for-child-pornography-located-thanks-to-nintendo-switch/
Published Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2023 23:05:27 +0000

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