A recognizable tattoo visible in a troubling Snapchat video helped lead authorities to a New Jersey woman who is now accused of sexually abusing a child she had been watching.
Victoria Anne Cranmer has been charged with second-degree sexual assault, second-degree manufacturing child sexual abuse material, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, according to court documents obtained by Jersey Shore Online.
The investigation began on May 20, when Little Egg Harbor Police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit were contacted by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the outlet.
Investigators first interviewed a woman identified in records as Ms. H, who had been told about a video that allegedly showed her young son involved in sexual contact with Cranmer, according to the affidavit. Police said Cranmer had babysat both Ms. H’s son and the daughter of another woman, identified as Ms. P.
Cranmer had reportedly been living with Ms. P, who bought the 25-year-old an iPhone as an April birthday gift, according to the affidavit, which was also obtained by NJ.com.
After the two women had a falling out, Cranmer moved out, and Ms. P told investigators she asked Cranmer to return the phone.
While reviewing the device, Ms. P allegedly found a 14-second video stored in Cranmer’s Snapchat memories that authorities say showed a child being sexually abused.
According to the affidavit, Ms. P identified the woman in the footage as Cranmer based on a distinctive leg tattoo depicting “boobs, a lightning bolt and a mushroom,” police wrote.
The witness saved the video and then handed the device over to police, who obtained a search warrant and uncovered more Snapchat videos of Cranmer with the child, according to the court records.
In one video, per the affidavit, Cranmer was allegedly sitting on a toilet with her genitals exposed as a child touched her. The video also showed her laughing and talking with the child, police said.
Cranmer was arrested and taken to the Ocean County Jail, where she’s currently being held without bond, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.
Her next court hearing is scheduled for July 14. Its unclear whether she has retained an attorney.
