KANNAPOLIS — A Kannapolis business owner is in custody after authorities reportedly linked him to sex solicitation with a minor over the popular multimedia and messaging app Snapchat.

Mohamed Mosed Ahmed Al-Hareurey, 32, of Kannapolis, is charged with solicit a child by computer and soliciting child prostitution. He was arrested on June 2 and taken into custody where he was assigned a $250,000 bond. 

According to Capt. Mark McDaniel, the public information officer at the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, on June 2, deputies received information about an adult male who was allegedly soliciting a 14-year-old female for sex, using Snapchat.

In speaking with the complainant, deputies learned that the victim had been solicited by a male subject who went by the name of Moe. He was known by the Snapchat group as the owner of the Cannon Tobacco and Vape Shop in Kannapolis.  

The N.C. Secretary of State website confirmed that Al-Hareurey is the owner of Cannon Tobacco and Vape Shop.

The Snapchat conversation between Al-Hareurey and the juvenile had been recorded and showed that the former allegedly solicited the juvenile for sex and even offered vapes in exchange for sex. Deputies requested the assistance of the Kannapolis Police Department, who sent an officer to that location, but he was unable to locate the suspect. 

Deputies with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office then communicated with Al-Hareurey through the app. During that interaction, Al-Hareurey allegedly made comments of his intentions to perform sex acts with the juvenile. Deputies advised that the vape store could be clearly seen in the background of the photos that were sent. 

Deputies traveled to the Cannon Tobacco and Vape shop in Kannapolis where they were able to identify the suspect from the Snapchat photos. They matched that ID with the suspect’s N.C. driver’s license and took him into custody.