A father who was concerned about his teenage son posting photos of guns on social media alerted the police – only to discover that the boy was hiding something equally troubling.
Miami-Dade police received a call last week, just a few days after the Parkland school shooting, from a Miami father who said his 18-year-old son, Sean Mesa, had been posting images of himself holding guns on Snapchat and Instagram.
An officer went to Dr. Michael Krop Senior High, where Mesa is a senior, to speak to the teen about his fascination with guns, the Miami Herald reports.
Sean Mesa, 18, was arrested on Friday after his father contacted police about disturbing photos he was posting on Snapchat and Instagram
Mesa, a senior at Dr. Michael Krop Senior High in Miami, was posting images of himself holding guns, like in the picture above
Mesa’s father became concerned about the photos and alerted Miami-Dade police who confiscated Mesa’s two cell phones
Even after his phones were taken away, Mesa posted the above image of a pistol resting on his lap with the caption: ‘Now they watching so I ain’t stopping
Mesa reportedly told the officer that he ‘likes guns and it was his right to post on social media whatever he wished’.
The father was called to the school and he agreed to turn over his son’s two cell phones to police.
However, that didn’t stop the teen from posting the alarming images. Police said Mesa used another electronic device to share a Snapchat photo of a pistol resting on his lap. In the caption, he wrote: ‘Now they watching so I ain’t stopping.’
A warrant stated that the Snapchat post alarmed students and staff at the high school, who were still on high alert following the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland after 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire with an AK-47.
According to the Miami Herald, the Secret Service examined Mesa’s cell phones and found a disturbing video of a child under the age of 10 being sexually abused.
Mesa, pictured above in court, has been charged with improper display of a firearm and child pornography after police found a video on the teen’s phone showing a child being sexually abused
Mesa’s father contacted police a few days after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz (pictured) killed 17 people at a Florida high school
Police said the video had been sent to two other people in a group chat.
Mesa was arrested Friday at the school and charged with possessing child porn. Because of the gun photos, the teen was also charged with improper display of a firearm.
If convicted, Mesa will face time behind bars and could have to register as a sex offender.