When I first began covering the rape cases in two Northern Kentucky counties against Paul Snow Jr., I knew there was more to the story.
As I reviewed dozens of case documents in preparation for Snow’s second rape trial, this time in Kenton County, I started to understand why this case was so different.
It was the similarities in what women told police about how Snow lured and sexually assaulted them. It was the common thread of digital manipulation through social media and stolen data. And it was a woman’s disclosures on Facebook and later to law enforcement that prompted the investigations and brought a serial rapist to justice.
Paityn Crist wasn’t the first person to say something when she typed out a Facebook post in 2023. Some of the women Snow victimized even went to the police years earlier, but for one reason or another, charges never stuck. But if Crist hadn’t gone to the police nearly six years after she was raped, it’s possible that investigators never would’ve pieced together the full extent of Snow’s crimes.
She and the women who faced Snow during a weeklong trial told their stories to 12 strangers, asking for Snow to be held accountable. The jury believed them. Snow was convicted of 28 counts in a resounding verdict, with jurors finding that he sexually assaulted six women and subjected three others to online harassment.
With the case finally over and her attacker heading to prison, Crist felt comfortable speaking with me about why she came forward so long after the assault. She lived with trauma and fear for years because of what she went through.
Speaking out wasn’t about her; it was about warning other women to ensure that Snow didn’t hurt anyone else.
In the end, Crist’s story was key in obtaining justice for herself and other women. She let me interview her in hopes of encouraging other women with similar stories of sexual violence to speak out.
The detective who investigated Snow for roughly two years, and the prosecutors who pursued a court case against him, also spoke about the work it took to file charges and secure a conviction.
Together, their stories show that a serial offender can face lifelong consequences even years later.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How we reported on a woman using social media to catch a serial rapist
Reporting by Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
