Douglas County judge rejects motion to suppress Snapchat evidence in case of man accused of sexually assaulting middle school girls | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo of: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Kenneth Soap is pictured at a motions hearing in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

A Douglas County judge on Wednesday denied a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence via Snapchat in a case in which he is accused of sexually abusing numerous prepubescent girls at a Lawrence school.

The alleged crimes of defendant Kenneth Soap, 44, of Lawrence, came to light after a teacher overheard four students at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School discussing a man calling them and sending them offensive messages on Snapchat in January 2023.

That overheard conversation — about nude photos and obscene pick-up lines to 11- and 12-year-olds — led to an investigation by Soap, which uncovered even more disturbing allegations of illicit contact with even more children. As the Journal-World reported, these included exchanging pornographic photos and videos for money and demanding that the young girls call him “daddy.”

Soap, who was arrested in August last year, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of aggravated internet trafficking in child pornography, one count of aggravated human trafficking and one count of sexual extortion.

His attorney, Branden Smith, asked the court to throw out all Snapchat evidence, arguing, among other things, that the affidavit supporting the search warrant lacked probable cause and was too broad – arguments that Judge Amy Hanley flatly rejected on Wednesday. She said the affidavit contained probable cause to believe evidence of electronic solicitation of a child as well as harassment by phone would be found. She also said that “the teacher’s account was significant,” and she found that the four days of data to Snapchat requested in the search warrant was a “reasonable time limit.”

One of Smith’s arguments was that the data Snapchat provided – for the four-day period – went beyond what was requested in the search warrant. The discrepancy arose because Snapchat used Coordinated Universal Time rather than Central Time when providing the data, resulting in law enforcement receiving several hours of data beyond what would have been requested had Central Time been used from the start.

While Hanley acknowledged the discrepancy due to the time conversion, he concluded that the officer did not act in bad faith when reviewing the data.

“I believe she acted in good faith when she relied on what Snapchat sent her,” Hanley said.

Soap, who is being held in the Douglas County Jail on $250,000 bail, is now scheduled to face a preliminary hearing in the case on October 22.

He has been convicted of aggravated assault, minor assault, and driving under the influence in Douglas County. He also faces charges of at least four counts of driving under the influence in Douglas County and a charge of grand theft in Platte County, Missouri.