22-05-2025
Ypsilanti man faces federal charges for soliciting 15-year-old on social media
A Ypsilanti man is facing federal charges, including child pornography, after an investigation that started with an undercover officer who was purporting to be a teenage girl online.
A federal criminal complaint accusing Luke David Hanna of Ypsilanti of violations of sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography was filed May 8 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The incidents cited happened during 2024 in Washtenaw County.
The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest warrant was filed by a Department of Homeland Security special agent from the agency's Grand Rapids office. The special agent related conversations that took place with an undercover officer on Reddit, an online messaging service.
As part of those conversations, arrangements were made to meet up with the undercover officer, who was posing as a minor girl, in Lansing. No one showed up, but there was a follow-up conversation that included "I got scared. I saw a car following you. Sorry to bail."
Based on this conduct and conversations with another minor, law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for Hanna's home and his phone.
That's when officers learned of conversations and explicit videos exchanged via Snapchat, an online social media app, with an actual 15-year-old girl who lived in Michigan. Authorities were able to identify the teen and spoke with her as part of the investigation.
