Popular YouTuber EDP445, whose real name is Bryant Turhan Emmerson Moreland, has been charged with several felonies linked to him allegedly trying to meet an underage girl in Bakersfield, California, for sex, as per NBC News affiliate KGET.
According to court records cited by KGET, Moreland was charged on Monday with attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. He was also charged with going to an arranged meeting with a minor, contacting a minor with sexual intent, and sending pornography with the intent to seduce a minor, the report said.
Moreland was arrested on Wednesday in Las Vegas with help from the Las Vegas Police Department. He will be taken to Kern County, according to a release from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
The 2021 incident and the documentary
Moreland became known for online rant videos, mostly about the Philadelphia Eagles. As per KGET, in 2021 he allegedly tried to meet a 13-year-old girl at the Pineridge Apartment Complex in east Bakersfield. A documentary released this year, “The Sick Mind of EDP445,” looks at that incident.
As per TMZ, It was one of two vigilante online sting operations against Moreland. Moreland thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl, but an adult YouTuber met him instead.
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According to TMZ, Chris Hansen interviewed Moreland in August on his “Have a Seat” podcast. That chat was also featured in the documentary, “To Catch a Predator.” As per TMZ, Moreland said in that sit-down, “I showed up to that location that day trying to obviously meet up with an underage girl. You know what I mean? And I guess you can say …. I don’t know … trying to have sex.”
Why charges came now
According to KGET, the investigation stalled in 2021 because the people who reported the incident did not cooperate. Prosecutors reopened the case after the documentary was released. They said Moreland’s statements provided enough evidence to file charges against him.
As per TMZ, Hansen said Moreland’s admission in their chat was enough for the Kern County DA to get a warrant. DA’s office said in a statement, “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. Following its review of the new evidence, the District Attorney’s Office determined that the evidentiary threshold for filing criminal charges had been met.”