LOGAN — A 29-year-old Logan man has been arrested for using a gaming app to exchange child sexual abuse material, according to law enforcement. Jacob Trent Ransom was arrested March 31 at an auto dealership, where he was employed as a technician.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the Logan City Police Department received a cybertip on March 4, claiming a local resident had uploaded three images of child pornography to Discord, an app that allows users to chat and play video games together. The images were of a young girl, around 12-years-old, exposing herself.
Police tracked the app’s user account to an email address and phone number, both registered to Ransom. They also traced the IP address that had accessed the app to the Logan auto dealership.
Officers found multiple chats in which Ransom reportedly stated that he likes small girls, the arrest affidavit stated. They also located 138 pornographic videos and 571 pornographic pictures, many showing children or animated kids being sexual abused.
Police were able to locate several photos and church documents among the files, identifying Ransom as the user of the account. They also found several pictures of the suspect allegedly wearing a diaper.
Monday, law enforcement executed a search warrant and took Ransom into custody at his work. He reportedly confirmed the Discord account was his, stating that he had a pornography problem that took him down the path of liking younger looking girls, the PC statement detailed.
Ransom reportedly told police that he had been into liking younger looking girls for a few months and thought the pictures he had shared were of an 18-year-old. He then reportedly invoked his right to an attorney.
According to jail records, Ransom was booked on three counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; and 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. He is currently being held without bail, pending arraignment of formal charges in Logan’s 1st District Court, and could face up to life in prison, if convicted.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.