US4 min(s) read
Published 10:21 11 Jul 2026 GMT
A New Jersey woman has been arrested after allegedly recording herself sexually assaulting a child under 13 and sharing the footage on Snapchat.
Investigators identified her through a distinctive tattoo on her leg.
Victoria Anne Cranmer, 25, of Little Egg Harbor, was charged on Tuesday with second-degree sexual assault, second-degree manufacturing of child sexual abuse material, third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
She is being held without bail at Ocean County Jail.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, investigators were able to identify Cranmer through several distinctive tattoos visible in the 14-second recording.
One of the tattoos, located on her leg, depicts breasts.
The tattoo proved to be the critical piece of evidence linking Cranmer to the footage.
Without it, identifying suspects in child abuse material can take investigators months or even years.
The investigation did not begin with a tip from Snapchat or a report from a concerned member of the public. It began with a returned phone.
According to court documents, the mobile phone used to record the footage had been given to Cranmer as a birthday present by a former roommate.
After a falling out, the roommate asked Cranmer to move out and to leave the phone behind.
While reviewing the phone's contents after getting it back, the roommate discovered the recording. They saved the video and turned the device over to investigators.
The case was referred to the Little Egg Harbor Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit on May 20 by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
Detectives obtained search warrants for both the phone and Cranmer's Snapchat account.
On the account, they found additional videos saved in Snapchat's Memories feature, a function that allows users to store content within the app.
Several of the videos showed Cranmer and the alleged victim in a bathroom.
At least one was shared on Snapchat, according to New Jersey 101.5.
The original 14-second clip, which court documents describe as showing the assault of a child under 13, was recorded on May 6 inside the bathroom of a home in Little Egg Harbor while the child was in Cranmer's care.
According to documents cited by NJ.com, Cranmer can be heard laughing while the alleged assault takes place.
Cranmer faces four charges in total.
Second-degree sexual assault and second-degree manufacturing of child sexual abuse material are the most serious, each carrying significant prison time under New Jersey law.
She also faces third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
She was booked into Ocean County Jail and is being held without bail pending further proceedings. No court date has been publicly announced.
The charges are similar in nature to those brought against adult film actor Austin Wolf, who was recently sentenced to 19 years in prison after being found in possession of hundreds of videos depicting sexual abuse of minors, including footage involving infants.
Snapchat's Memories function allows users to save Snaps and Stories within the app rather than to their phone's camera roll.
Content saved in Memories is stored on Snapchat's servers and can be accessed by the user at any time.
In this case, investigators obtained a warrant for Cranmer's Snapchat account and were able to recover additional videos that had been saved using the feature.
The fact that the content was stored within Snapchat rather than on the phone itself meant it would not have been visible to the roommate who discovered the original clip on the device.
It also means the videos were accessible to Snapchat as a platform.
Under US federal law, electronic service providers are required to report any child sexual abuse material they become aware of to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
It is not clear whether Snapchat flagged the content before investigators obtained the warrant.
Cranmer remains in custody at Ocean County Jail.
The investigation is being handled by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit in conjunction with the Little Egg Harbor Police Department.
Prosecutors have not indicated whether additional charges may follow, though the discovery of multiple videos on both the phone and Cranmer's Snapchat account suggests the investigation is ongoing.
The identity of the child has not been made public.
The victim is confirmed to be under 13 years old.
