YouTuber Bryant Moreland has been charged with four felony counts of sex offenses that allegedly involved a 13-year-old girl, and he reportedly admitted he knew his actions were “highly illegal.”
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office confirmed in a statement shared on Facebook that Moreland was arrested on Wednesday, November 4, “following an extensive investigation into statements made by Moreland in The Sick Mind of EDP445 documentary.”
Moreland, 35, was charged with four felonies that include attempting to commit lewd acts upon a child, meeting a minor for lewd purposes, contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense and distributing or showing pornography to a minor.
“The charges stem from an alleged incident involving a child under 14 years old that occurred on April 17, 2021,” the district attorney’s office said in the statement.
The district attorney’s office then referenced Moreland’s past run-in with the YouTube channel “Predator Catchers,” which shed light on the alleged incident with the minor.
“When the Kern County District Attorney’s Office initially reviewed the incident in 2021 and 2022, there were significant challenges in pursuing prosecution, particularly due to the lack of cooperation from the reporting parties,” the office said.
The case was reopened when Moreland appeared in a YouTube documentary, The Sick Mind of EDP445, and spoke with former To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, where he admitted to having sexually explicit communications with underage girls.
“I knew that it was wrong,” Moreland said during the conversation. “I knew that it was something that was highly illegal that shouldn’t be done.”
“In light of recent statements made by Moreland in the documentary, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office reopened the investigation,” officials said in the statement. “Following its review of the new evidence, the District Attorney’s Office determined that the evidentiary threshold for filing criminal charges had been met.”
Moreland was located in Las Vegas and taken into custody. He is expected to be arraigned after he is extradited to Kern County, California.
It’s not currently clear whether Moreland has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following his arrest. The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
Moreland has created a loyal following over the years by posting videos on Youtube under the username EDP445, where he has amassed over 2 million subscribers.
Parents, teachers and guardians interested in learning more about protecting children from exploitation can find useful tools and information at Know2Protect.
