Social media allows people to share about any aspect of their lives that they wish. In some cases, individuals may share too much, and if a post depicts a person doing something illegal, authorities could begin an investigation. In many cases, if the investigation leads to the identification of a suspect, criminal charges could result.
It was recently reported that a 20-year-old man in Illinois was taken into custody after authorities found a video on Facebook. Apparently, the video showed the man kicking a deer that had been injured after being struck by a vehicle. The alleged incident reportedly took place in Sept. 2018, but authorities found the video online in Dec. 2019. After reviewing the footage, they began an investigation.
One officer stated that the suspect was located after going over information posted on social media, including comments on the video that contained the man’s name. As a result, the man was recently taken into custody, and he is currently facing charges for animal torture, which is a felony, and cruel treatment of an animal, which is a misdemeanor. It was unclear whether the man was still in custody at the time of the report.
Because this alleged incident took place over a year ago, this Illinois man may have forgotten about it until authorities came to arrest him. Now, he has criminal charges to contend with, and those charges could come with steep penalties if he is convicted. Fortunately, he has legal rights and options and can create a defense presentation against the allegations if he wishes to do so.