Two Apex men accused of sharing child porn on Discord app
Two Apex men were charged with numerous counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after investigators said they were caught sharing child pornography on a social media app.
Alexander McKinley Long, 20, and Gabriel John Yager, 23, are accused of sharing child pornography on a social media platform called Discord.
In early January, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed Apex police about child pornography being shared on Discord.
An investigation was launched, and on Jan. 4, detectives executed a search warrant at Long's home on Weehawken Place in Apex. Detectives seized Long's electronic devices, which led to him being arrested and charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. According to arrest warrants, the videos and images depicted children as young as 18 months old being sexually assaulted, raped and abused.
On Monday, Apex detectives, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and Internet Crimes Against Children investigators, executed a search warrant in the 1200 block of Mossy Glade Circle. Yager was arrested after the search and was charged with seven counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Long was being held on a $100,000 bond.
Apex police said they have investigated 23 cases involving the sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 cases involving blackmail/extortion since the start of 2022. The majority of allegations indicate offenders or victims using app-based platforms; with the most prevalent being Discord and Snapchat. The other apps being reported by offenders were Telegram, Mega and Dropbox.
