Apex police keeping close eye on Discord after men caught with child porn images

From phones to social media apps, there's no question your children are chatting and gaming online.

But do parents know who's on the other end, and what they could be capable of?

The question warrants a closer look at Discord, a social media app becoming more familiar to Apex police and leading to recent arrests.

For parents, chances are you've walked into your child's room, and seen them wearing headphones while zeroed into a TV screen while gaming and chatting with other gamers.

Have you ever wondered who they're talking to?

What authorities nationwide and in the Triangle are finding Discord is being used for illegal activity, notably the exchange of child pornography.

"A predator can pose as anybody," Apex Police Chief Jason Armstrong said.

Discord, primarily used by gamers, was launched in 2015. The platform has 150 million users. It's like a private chat for specific communities, but Armstrong says its got a dark side.

"They are looking for victims and trying to entice young people to send them explicit photos," said Armstrong.

On Jan. 9, Apex police arrested two men, 20-year-old Alexander Long, and 23-year-old Gabriel Yager, both charged with crimes of 2nd degree sexual exploitation of a minor, stemming from use of Discord. A similar story emerged Thursday from Chatham County, where a Pennsylvania man who communicated with a Chatham County juvenile through Discord is facing more than 1,000 counts of child pornography possession after deputies say the man convinced the juvenile to send him sexually explicit videos and photos.

"In this case we got there, things we were looking for in the search warrant we found info and evidence," said Armstrong.

Armstrong said the men were receiving images of child porn with children as young as 18 months engaged in sex acts.

"We want to cut down on the uptick we are seeing," Armstrong said.

In 2022, detectives with Apex police have investigated 23 cases involving the sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 cases involving sextortion.

WRAL News reached out to Discord and are waiting to hear back. The company has taken steps to address child abuse on its platform. It disabled more than 37,000 accounts for safety violations in 2023.

Yager and Long have bonded out of Wake County jail. They are due back in court in January.

The U.S. Department of Justice has several guidelines for parents to help ensure their children's safety online:

• Discuss internet safety and develop an online safety plan with children before they engage in online activity. Establish clear guidelines, teach children to spot red flags, and encourage children to have open communication with you.
• Supervise young children’s use of the internet, including periodically checking their profiles and posts. Keep electronic devices in open, common areas of the home and consider setting time limits for their use.
• Adjust privacy settings and use parental controls for online games, apps, social medial sites, and electronic devices.
• Tell children to avoid sharing personal information, photos, and videos online in public forums or with people they do not know in real life. Explain to your children that images posted online will be permanently on the internet.
• Encourage children to tell a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult if anyone asks them to engage in sexual activity or other inappropriate behavior.
• Immediately report suspected online enticement or sexual exploitation of a child by calling 911.