James Allen: Ohio Man Allegedly Raped A Family Member While She Recorded It On Snapchat, Leads To Arrest

An Ohio man has been arrested after being caught on video allegedly raping a family member. The woman documented the assault in the form of a video and posted it on the social media platform, Snapchat.

As WJW-TV (Cleveland) reports, 77-year-old James Allen has been arrested and charged with rape, and he is being held on a $1 million bond.

Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten says he’s seen the video of the alleged sexual assault, and he says it’s clear to him that a rape is taking place. He also says that the victim in the video appears to be impaired, although he declined to specify how.

According to Buzzfeed, a man in Texas called authorities in Danbury Township, Ohio, to do a welfare check on the 20-year-old woman, who was apparently a friend of his. At first, authorities checked on the woman and determined that although she was intoxicated, nothing seemed amiss, according to Danbury Township Police Chief Michael S. Meisler. However, the Texas man later saw the video on Snapchat, contacted authorities again, and Allen was arrested. Authorities say that the victim is Allen’s step-granddaughter.

“The most upsetting thing about this is that this is her stepgrandfather. He married her biological grandmother. He was the one who provided her with the alcohol that evening.”

VanEerten says the victim was wise to record the assault on video, according to The Toledo Blade.

“It’s obviously horrific, but at least it allowed us to put a stop to the situation and make a quick arrest in this case.”

Unfortunately, once the woman put the video out there on social media, that means that it’s spreading around. VaEerten is asking anyone who may have seen the video on Snapchat to stop sharing it.

This is not the first time that social media has played a role in a sex crime. As Fox News reported earlier this month, two juveniles, ages 14 and 15, have been arrested in connection with a gang rape that was live-streamed on Facebook. Authorities say a teenage girl was lured to a Chicago residence and was raped by several people, at least one of whom was an adult. Police say that that particular sexual assault, which took place in March, was viewed live by at least 40 people, none of whom called the police.

As of this writing, Snapchat has not returned a request for comment about the Ohio sexual assault.

[Featured Image by Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office]