Govini founder Eric Gillespie urged a person who he believed to be a dad offering his 10-year-old daughter to be sexually abused to use encrypted chat platforms, a Pennsylvania criminal complaint alleges.
"Signal is safer for er small talk," Gillespie wrote to the purported father, who was actually an undercover law-enforcement agent, according to a transcript of a chat included in the criminal complaint obtained by CNBC.
Gillespie then wrote that Session, another commonly used end-to-end encrypted platform, is "fine but less secure" than Signal, the filing says.
While chatting in Session, he sent the agent multiple photos of a "recent playmate" wearing a diaper and made repeated graphic references to sex acts with children, court documents state.
Gillespie also wrote that he preferred young children: "best when they can't talk."
The charging documents note that users can delete media and messages sent in Session, and because of that, the agent could not get screenshots of media files sent by Gillespie.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said that the chat with the agent began in an online forum often used by people attempting to arrange meetings with children.
The men then moved their discussion to Session, according to the AG's office, which last week said it had arrested and charged Gillespie with four felony counts, including unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
He is being held without bond.
His arrest came at a pivotal time for Govini, a defense contractor that is a key player in the U.S. military's push to modernize.
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