North Fulton County

Restaurant employee used Snapchat to track teen customers, police say

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Alpharetta police have charged a Marlow's Tavern employee who they say stalked two teenage girls using Snapchat.

Jason Porras, 23, is charged with enticing a minor for indecent purposes.

“Someone had been randomly reaching out to her on social media and over time had sent her inappropriate messages,” the father one of girls told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik.

Petchenik is not identifying the man to protect the identity of the minor.

Police believe Porras, a prep cook at the restaurant, spotted the girls while they ate lunch at Marlow’s Tavern at Avalon last August, and then used Snapchat’s location application to find them and send them messages.

“As they leave the guy sends them a message, ‘How did you like your food?’” said Officer Jason Muenzer.

Muenzer and the father said over time Porras continued speaking to the girls via Snapchat and tracking their locations.

“Initially started making comments asking where she was, those types of things, which led to him actually soliciting my daughter and one of her friends for sex,” the father said. “More specifically, offering her things like an Apple watch or money if she would do things with him.”

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Police said Porras also sent the girls explicit pictures.

The girls eventually told their parents who, in turn, brought Alpharetta police into it. They tell Petchenik they were able to identify Porras as the messenger.

“This 23-year-old did admit he asked the girls for sex for money, and at that point, warrants were taken,” Muenzer said.

A spokeswoman for Marlow’s Tavern sent Petchenik a statement about the incident.

“The employee was terminated immediately upon our learning of his arrest and the charges against him,” said Melissa Libby.

The father said what happened should be a warning to all parents.

“If he’d be willing to do this to our daughter and her friend, we were quite confident there was a potential that he’d do this to other kids,” he told Petchenik. “We talk to our kids a lot about social media and the risks and consequences that they don’t think about.”

Police echoed that sentiment.

“The girls did exactly what we’d hope they would have done. They contacted the parents and the parents eventually contacted us,” said Muenzer. “With Snapchat you can receive them and then they disappear so you’ve got to stay on top of what’s going on with social activity on the phones. It’s just not safe.”