A Morgantown man is accused of sending child pornography through Snapchat.
Tyler C. Walker, 29, is charged with two counts of distribution of child pornography by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.
The department received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through the Internet Crimes Against Children data portal, that an unknown person sent two photos consistent with child porn through Snapchat, according to a criminal complaint.
Detectives were given the IP address the images were uploaded from, the Snapchat user name and the phone number and date of birth associated with the account, the complaint said.
During the initial investigation a second complaint was filed claiming a different user name with the same date of birth and phone number uploaded an additional 10 images from a different IP address, according to the complaint.
The date of birth on both accounts matches Walker’s birthdate, according to the complaint.
The first IP address returned to his stepfather and the second to his girlfriend, the complaint said.
While executing a search warrant, his girlfriend confirmed the second account was Walker’s and said she made it for him, according to the complaint.
Walker confirmed the account belonged to him and admitted to sending the images, the complaint said.
Walker was arraigned by Magistrate Ron Bane and is being held in North Central Regional Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.
The sheriff’s department used its digital forensic lab, which opened in March, in the investigation, Sheriff Perry Palmer said.
The lab allows detectives to conduct forensic examinations of digital devices such as cell phones and computers at its Walnut Street station rather than sending them to be examined by the West Virginia State Police.
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