Snapchat’s recently found another hit on its hands with a trio of filters that allow users to virtually morph their appearance, either into a stereotypical man, woman, or baby. They’re a fun diversion, but one college student is also using them as a tool for justice.

Most college students use their free time studying or checking out their campus’s social scene, but 20-year-old Ethan wanted to bust online predators. 

News out of San Francisco showed a college student using the gender-swap filter to catch a police officer looking for sex with underage girls.

Earlier this month, San Mateo police officer Robert Davies was arrested on suspicion of “communicating with a minor with the intention of engaging in sexual activity,” according to the local San Francisco CBS affiliate. The police received a tip from someone claiming to be a 19-year-old woman posing as a 16-year-old on Tinder.

A 20-year-old boy posed as a 16-year-old girl named Esther.

It turns out the informant was actually a 20-year-old male college student named Ethan, who spoke to the Bay Area’s local NBC affiliate. He says that he was motivated to try to expose pedophiles after a friend revealed their own history of sexual assault to him.

After creating an account on Tinder and chatting with the police officer on SnapChat, the student shared the screenshots with authorities.

Ethan posed as a woman named Esther on Tinder, and told Davies that he was 16, a fact that didn’t seem to bother him. The pair then exchanged many messages over the course of about 12 hours so that Ethan could eventually identify who he was talking to (“It got a lot more explicit,” he recalled). Then Ethan screenshotted the conversation and sent it to the authorities.

Oddly enough, the conversation also took place on Snapchat, making the app a one-stop shop for vigilante catfishing. “Snapchat, when you screenshot something, it notifies the other person that they’ve screenshotted the chats, right?” he told NBC. “So I had to screenshot all these on airplane mode in case he blocked me.”

Many on Twitter were totally unaware of the airplane mode loophole.

Like, we were totally unaware either. This is groundbreaking news for those deep spy days.

Many are upset the officer is only on paid administrative leave.

Davies has been placed on paid administrative leave in the meantime. At the time of his arrested, San Mateo police chief Susan Manheimer said, “This alleged conduct, if true, is in no way a reflection of all that we stand for as a Department, and is an affront to the tenets of our department and our profession as a whole.”

Ethan told NBC that he does not plan to repeat the stunt. In the meantime, the filters remain a big hit, and Snapchat’s install rates have doubled since the filters were released.

Comic book icon Stan Lee is not spending the last years of his life peacefully. The 95-year-old, who’s career as a comic-book writer, editor, film executive producer and publisher spans since the late 1930s, is facing a gamut of issues. Lee is dealing with fraud and financial issues, so much so that director Kevin Smith said Lee could come live with him. There’s family drama too. And matters are just getting worse.

A Latina masseuse who worked on Stan Lee during a comic con is suing him over claims of inappropriate sexual misconduct.

Massage therapist Maria Carballo alleges that on the weekend of April 21-23, 2017, she performed two massage therapy sessions for Lee in his hotel room at a Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

According to court documents given to mitu: “During her first massage session, Lee began to fondle himself while lying face down; later, while Ms. Carballo was massaging his quadriceps, Lee began to moan and groan. Feeling uncomfortable, Ms. Carballo ended the massage early and left the hotel room.”

Carballo was then asked to return the following day to give Lee another massage. She alleges that he apologized to her, and she agreed to conduct the massage mostly out of fear of losing her job.

The suit alleges that one hour into the massage, “Lee, again, began moaning. In order to create distance from Lee, Ms. Carballo performed a Shiatsu massage, in which hands are replaced by feet. Within minutes, Lee took her foot and moved it against his genitals. Once Ms. Carballo freed herself from his grip, she promptly gathered her belongings and left.”

Carballo’s complaint contains five counts, including assault, battery, violation of the Illinois Gender Violence Act, emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

Massage therapist accuses Stan Lee of Marvel Comics of inappropriate sexual behavior during arranged massages at Chicago hotel in 2017, according to lawsuit filed in Cook County circuit court https://t.co/aACVSg0YH0 pic.twitter.com/MgfzzbTttt

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) April 24, 2018

The suit also shows that records prove Lee was in Chicago that weekend as he was attending the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo at the McCormick Place convention center.

Carballo is also suing Lee’s assistant Mac Anderson, and is asking for more than $50,000.

“He is a high-profile public figure and I think it’s a shakedown,” Jonathan Freund, an attorney for Lee, told The Chicago Tribune, in response to the claim. “The guy is 95, I don’t think he would do that.”

Lee has been accused of similar actions before. Earlier this year, an unnamed source said that Lee had behaved sexually inappropriately.

“The report states a company that once provided Lee with professional nurses who gave him 24/7 home care terminated their business with Lee late last year, and that the parting of ways came after multiple nurses complained Lee allegedly propositioned them for sex, touched them inappropriately, and exposed himself to them,” Gizmodo reports.

Carballo says she didn’t come forward with her claims earlier because she was afraid.

Stan Lee is suing his ex-business manager, alleging fraud and elder abuse https://t.co/wwL4Tmvdyd pic.twitter.com/kNYaGMPh8K

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 16, 2018

“For a long time, I was afraid to ask anyone to help me hold Mr. Lee accountable for how he treated me,” Carbello said in a released statement. “He is rich and famous. I am not. After seeing other women fight to be treated with dignity and respect, I decided, me too. I am still nervous and afraid, but not as much as I was before because I have other people helping me.”

Carballo’s attorney, Alexandra Lopez of Cunningham Lopez LLP, also released the following statement: “Women all over the country, especially women in the hotel and service industry, have experienced the pain and embarrassment of being treated like chattel. Whether the men are powerful and influential like Stan Lee, Donald Trump or Bill Cosby, or just everyday businessmen, women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Maria knows that she is in for the fight of her life, and we intend to battle with her every step of the way.”

The allegations against Lee dropped on the same day that he attended “Avengers: Infinity War” movie premiere.

Stan Lee making his way down the #InfinityWarPremiere carpet. pic.twitter.com/N5TlRVDo65

— Karen Civil (@KarenCivil) April 24, 2018

Lee’s appearance at the red carpet premiere of “Avengers: Infinity War” caught fans’ attention. The comic legend attended the event in a motorized wheelchair on the same day sexual assault allegations went public.

READ: In Front Of Nearly 20,000 Fans At La Conque, Stan Lee Announced That He’s Developing A New Latino Superhero

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