Jamestown Man Charged in Federal Case Following CyberTip Investigation Into Online Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

A federal criminal complaint filed in the Western District of New York has charged Connor J. Higgs, 20, of Jamestown, New York, with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material following a multi-agency investigation initiated through a national cyber reporting system. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years if convicted.

The case originated in August 2025 when the New York State Police received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), identifying a Discord account suspected of distributing illicit material involving minors. CyberTipline reports serve as a primary intake mechanism for identifying online exploitation activity, often triggered by platform monitoring systems or user reporting tied to suspicious digital behavior.

Investigators traced the account activity to Higgs, leading to the execution of a search warrant at his Jamestown residence in October 2025. During the search, law enforcement seized eight electronic devices believed to be associated with the account activity. Higgs was taken into custody at the scene as investigators began a forensic review of the recovered hardware.

Digital analysis of the seized devices identified child sexual abuse material on at least two of the devices. According to the complaint, the material included images depicting prepubescent minors and instances involving violence against children. Investigators also confirmed that some of the recovered content involved a minor victim already known to law enforcement, indicating overlap with previously identified exploitation cases and reinforcing the networked nature of these offenses.

The use of Discord in this case reflects a broader trend in exploitation-related investigations, where widely used communication platforms are leveraged to share and distribute illicit content. These environments often allow for rapid exchange, private group interaction, and layered anonymity, complicating detection efforts and requiring coordinated investigative techniques to trace activity back to individual users.

The investigation was conducted by the New York State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen M. McCarthy.

The charges outlined in the complaint are allegations. Under federal law, Connor J. Higgs is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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