Gilbert man arrested, accused of sharing child porn online

GILBERT, Ariz. - A Gilbert man is apparently in a lot of trouble, according to court documents, after he is accused of sharing sexually explicit photos involving children.

The suspect was identified by investigators as 32-year-old Kyle Lee Hernandez, and was arrested on Aug. 10.

According to court documents, the investigation that led to Hernandez's arrest began in November 2022, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from Meta, after the company became aware that two images that deice apparent child pornography were uploaded to Instagram.

Meta, which owns Facebook, also owns Instagram.

Court documents contain graphic description of the photos, one of which was sent to another Instagram user.

Investigators later linked Hernandez to the photo's uploading, and on the morning of Aug. 10, officers served a search warrant at Hernandez's home.

During an interview that was conducted after Hernandez was read his Miranda rights, court documents state that Hernandez admitted to trading Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) after first getting such materials about two years ago, and that he primarily uses the app Telegram to send and receive such images.

Hernandez, according to investigators, also admitted to only sharing and receiving such images when he is intoxicated, and is aware that it is illegal to do so.

"He has about 80 Child Sexual Abuse Material images within Telegram currently on his cell phone," read a portion of the court documents.

Hernandez, according to court documents, is accused of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Investigators say this is for CSAM images on his cell phone. A judge has set a $25,000 bond for Hernandez. Should he make bail, he will be subjected to electronic monitoring.