(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Ryan Yost, 22, of Bayport, was indicted for multiple counts of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child and Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, for allegedly using the social media applications Discord and SnapChat to access and download child sexual abuse material.
“A grand jury has returned an indictment charging this defendant with felony offenses for allegedly using social media to obtain child sexual abuse material,” said District Attorney Tierney. “My office remains fully committed to aggressively prosecuting those who exploit children.”
According to the investigation, on August 30, 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received information that child sexual abuse material had allegedly been downloaded via Discord, a real-time communication application for text, voice, and video chat typically used by gamers, including children. NCMEC notified the Suffolk County Police Department’s Digital Forensics Unit, and a search warrant was executed resulting in multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse material being found on Yost’s devices and social media accounts. Yost was arrested on January 20, 2026.
On April 16, 2026, Yost was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis for four counts of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child, Class D felonies, and seven counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, Class E felonies.
Justice Wilutis ordered Yost held on $10,000 cash, $20,000 bond, or $100,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Yost is due back in court on May 28, 2026, and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Craig Fleisher, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Raso of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Steven Dagostino of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Digital Forensics Unit.