Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Rayden Scot Harwood, 18, was booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility and has been charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for possession of child pornography.
Bond set at $100,000
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Douglas completed a search warrant on a residence at 2040 S. Perry Place in Safford on Aug. 14 and arrested Rayden Scot Harwood, 18, for possession and dissemination of child pornography.
Harwood was booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility and the Graham County Attorney’s Office has formally charged him with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. His bond was set at $100,000.
According to an HSI report, Google initially reported an incident involving child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on Dec. 6, 2023. The information was then shared with the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children, who assigned it to HSI Douglas and its agents to investigate the crime.
In April, investigators served Google with a summons to disseminate user information and to identify a person from a username. Google answered the summons the same day and Rayden Harwood became known.
Investigators then reviewed 36 files containing child sex abuse material that Harwood had allegedly obtained. The material depicted a variety of extreme child sex abuse acts, mostly on pre-pubescent children, with some as young as infants. A portion of the material also included bestiality.
Upon the execution of the search warrant, Harwood was interviewed and he allegedly admitted to accessing child pornography via the dark web through an Onion browser and through the social media application Snapchat. He said he began viewing child pornography at age 15 and also allegedly admitted distributing child sex abuse material (CSAM) to three separate individuals.
The evidence log showed agents seized two Motorola cellphones and a silver MacBook Air from the residence.
Sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class-2 felony and, according to Arizona Revised Statutes, if the minor is under the age of 15 each count faces a maximum allowable sentence of 27 years in prison. In many cases such as this one, however, a plea agreement is usually struck with the defendant pleading guilty to an amended charge of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, which has a lighter sentencing structure.