Child sex complaint: Cleveland man met girl, 14, on Snapchat

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(Content Warning: This report concerns child sexual abuse. Readers are advised to use their own judgment.)

CLEVELAND (WJW) – A 60-year-old Cleveland man is accused of traveling to have sex with a 14-year-old New York girl he met on Snapchat and brutally abused, according to a federal complaint.

David P. Greulich, 60, of Cleveland, is charged in Northern Ohio federal district court with sexual exploitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor for sex and possession of child pornography.

Investigators received an online tip from Apple, which had flagged emails containing apparent child pornography involving a young girl, which Greulich had sent to himself, according to the complaint.

Federal authorities then learned that Greulich was being investigated by New York authorities in connection with the violent rape of another 14-year-old girl from the state. They met on the social media platform Snapchat, where they communicated for months, the complaint said.

Greulich allegedly drove to New York in April, picked up the girl at her home and took her to a New York hotel, where they stayed for two days, during which the girl described being brutally sexually assaulted, the complaint said . She also said Greulich recorded the meeting.

He returned the following May and took her to the same hotel for two days, where he attacked her again. Authorities reviewed hotel surveillance footage that shows Greulich with the girl.

License plate readers also spotted Greulich’s car at several points along Interstate 90 between Ohio and New York, as well as in Cleveland.

Authorities seized several devices in August during a warranted search of Greulich’s West 100th Street home, including an Apple iPod Touch that contained about two dozen pornographic images of children, including the 14-year-old girl.

Greulich allegedly told the girl that he had “had sex with young girls for years,” the complaint reads, including a girl who lived in his neighborhood and another child he and his wife were babysitting.

A federal grand jury will now review Greulich’s case for indictment. Court records show he remains in federal custody after waiving his detention hearing.