LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — A Liverpool karate instructor is accused of turning to the dark web to obtain sexually explicit images and videos of children, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The complaint, dated Aug. 10, accuses Theron Feidt of using dark web sites to acquire sexually explicit images and videos of children.
The complaint said the investigation into the alleged crimes began on June 9 with a cyber tip reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The tip claimed that Feidt used a Cash App account to buy access to a dark web site that contained child sex abuse material (CSAM).
The FBI received supporting evidence of the accusation from Block, Inc., which owns Cash App, on July 28. Investigators then looked into the claim and determined Feidt had verified the account to purchase the CSAM. The complaint said Feidt used his driver’s license to verify the account.
The Cash App account was used on “Dark Website 1” and “Dark Website 2.” The FBI investigated the websites and found images and videos of children being sexually abused.
On Dark Website 1, the complaint said one video was a montage of children being sexually abused, including the abuse of two 10-year-old girls. The complaint noted that the specific ages of some of the girls in the montage were “difficult to determine.”
On Dark Website 2, investigators found additional videos of 6-year-old children being sexually abused.
On Aug. 10, investigators conducted a search warrant of Feidt’s residence and his business, Impact Martial Arts & Fitness. Both are located in Liverpool.
Feidt was found at this business and admitted to investigators that he used bitcoin on “multiple financial mobile applications to pay for access to Dark Website 2,” the complaint said. He added that he accessed the website on his iPad, which was at home.
Investigators found “dozens of hundreds” of items on the iPad, many containing child pornography. One of which was a 33-minute-long video that depicted an adult female performing sexual acts on a 4-year-old female.
The Impact Martial Arts & Fitness — Team Feidt Facebook page contains multiple photos of children. As of Tuesday, the account is still posting. The most recent post contains an image of text that reads, “To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.”
It was posted on Tuesday around 9 a.m.
This is a developing story.