A man allegedly found to have sexually explicit images of minors on his cellphone that were exchanged using Snapchat is in custody in Washington County.

Tyler Justin Pitt, 26, of South Ogden, was arrested on Sept. 4 and booked into jail in Washington County on a warrant issued in August.

Pitt has been charged with 25 second-degree felony charges that include 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and five counts of enticement of a minor. He also faces five third-degree felony counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor.

The charges were filed following a monthslong investigation that opened in May when a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy, who also serves as an FBI task force agent, was following up on a report alleging that Pitt was requesting and sending sexual abuse material to an underaged person in Southern Utah using Snapchat.

In July, detectives obtained a search warrant for the account and confirmed the allegations as outlined in the initial report, according to the arrest warrant filed in support of the arrest.

Investigators also recovered sexually explicit material and images of Pitt and several girls that totaled more than 60 explicit images and more than 20 videos of Pitt, all of which were described as child sexual abuse material in the report. A number of the videos contained images investigators say were taken from his apartment in South Ogden.

Moreover, there were 15 audio files containing pornographic material that were later recovered by police.

Investigators say they also learned that Pitt was communicating with one of the girls for more than eight months and had reportedly made arrangements to meet up with one of the girls in person, but that meeting never took place.

According to the evidence obtained during this investigation, the agent noted that Pitt knowingly solicited child sexual abuse material from one of the girls and sent sexually explicit images to a girl in Utah.

Agents requested that Pitt be held without bail, citing that he “is a clear danger to the children of the local community,” and if released, “he may continue to prey upon children in the community,” according to the affidavit

Assistant Washington County Attorney Lane Wood filed a motion to seal the case to prevent Pitt from tampering with or destroying evidence, among other reasons that could not be included in this report. District Judge Eric A. Ludlow signed the order to seal in August.

On Tuesday, Pitt made an initial appearance in the 5th District Court in St. George, and the case was unsealed.

A preliminary waive hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 17, and the defendant remains in custody in Washington County without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.