LA man used Snapchat to get explicit videos from kids; gets 40 years

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In this photo illustration, Snapchat logo is being displayed on a mobile phone screen. (Photo by Ismail Kaplan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES - A West Los Angeles man will spend the next 40 years in federal prison, after he was convicted of using social media apps like Snapchat to convince young children to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves.

What we know:

Mark David Wallin, 44, of Del Rey, was sentenced to 480 months in prison on Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Wallin pleaded guilty last year to one count of production of child porn and one count of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

From 2019 to 2021, Wallin used the internet and social media apps like Snapchat to meet young children, both across the U.S. and abroad. After he developed relationships with the kids, he convinced them to send him explicit pictures and videos of themselves, the Justice Department said.

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In one case, officials said Wallin convinced a child as young as 9 to send him sexual pictures and videos.

In some instances, Wallin also convinced the children to do sexually explicit things on video chats, which he recorded without their knowing, federal officials said.

Once he got what he wanted, officials said, he'd threaten to distribute the images if the children didn't send him more.

In his plea agreement, Wallin admitted to doing this to at least five children between 9 and 16.

What they're saying:

Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong sentenced Wallin on Friday. During the hearing, Frimpong called Wallin's actions "cruel and relentless," and said that the pictures and videos he solicited from the children were of "highly sexualized sadomasochistic conduct that no child should know of, let alone be exposed to."

What's next:

Wallin has a restitution hearing scheduled for Aug. 13.