Garrett Michael Highlander, 20, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was arrested on Friday, according to the New York Post, after West Virginia State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a man "boasting of his large cache of 'child porn.'"1 The New York Post reports that upon confiscating Highlander's devices, officers recovered a photo of a young, prepubescent girl in a compromising position with "cuts on her arms and legs."1
The Daily Wire states that according to investigators, Highlander sent child sexual abuse material to other Discord users through shared chats and direct messages, and after receiving 48 cyber tip reports, troopers uncovered "numerous chat conversations" in which Highlander allegedly searched for sexually explicit images of children and asked other users "if anyone was willing to trade 'cp' with him."2 The Daily Wire also reports that he later admitted to participating in "chat servers … in which young, often juvenile females were groomed or talked into self-harm,"2 but insisted that he was merely a bystander and was "never involved in this activity."2
The Daily Wire further reports that Highlander was arrested and was being held at West Virginia's North Central Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond, that on Wednesday he posted bond, and that he is scheduled to be back in court on Monday, August 31.