BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Bradford deputies arrested a 24-year-old Starke man after police in Rochester, New Hampshire, said he exchanged sexually explicit photographs with a minor.
Austin Malone was arrested for transmitting information harmful to minors, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and possession of images depicting child sex conduct.
According to an arrest report, a detective in Rochester contacted a Bradford deputy about the allegations.
“I had been investigating a separate sex assault involving (the minor) having been assaulted by (another man),” wrote the New Hampshire officer.
The detective added that during the course of the assault investigation, he subpoenaed the Snapchat records of the victim and discovered she had been exchanging sexually explicit images with several men, including Malone.
The detective added that he found 320 messages and images exchanged between Malone and the victim between April 10 and April 16, 2024.
Bradford Detective Preston Welch wrote that he and Detective Hunter Redding interviewed the defendant.
According to Welch, Malone said that prior to dating his current girlfriend, he would engage in conversations with “random people” via Snapchat, and sometimes those conversations turned sexual in nature.
“When asked if Austin exchanged inappropriate pictures with someone under the age of 18, he advised he probably did,” reported the detective.
Malone then allowed the detectives to look through his phone, admitting that there were likely incriminating photos on the device.
“I asked Austin if anyone in the photographs was under the age of 18,” Welch wrote, “and he responded maybe at the time they were sent.”
The detectives arrested Malone after finding pictures of nude females on the device.
