West Virginia man arrested for alleged child pornography possession

Garrett Michael Highlander, a 20-year-old resident of Morgantown, West Virginia, has been arrested and charged with possession of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The arrest followed a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to the West Virginia State Police.

Authorities allege that Highlander used the messaging platform Discord to distribute illicit material and boast about a large collection of child pornography under usernames such as ‘MrChildPorn’ and ‘MrToxix’. Investigators claim he also attempted to use a Discord AI feature to search for explicit images involving infants and repeatedly asked users to trade illegal content.

During questioning, Highlander reportedly claimed his online behavior was intended as ‘trolling’ and ‘rage-baiting’ for amusement. However, upon searching his electronic devices, investigators recovered explicit images of a prepubescent girl. Highlander is currently held in the North Central Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond.