Bryant Turhan Emmerson Moreland, known as EDP445, was charged Monday with four felonies in connection with an alleged attempt to meet an underage girl in Bakersfield for sex. The filing turns a 2021 allegation into formal criminal charges after prosecutors reviewed new evidence from a documentary released this year.
The charges include attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, going to an arranged meeting with a minor, contacting a minor with sexual intent and sending pornography with the intent to seduce a minor. Moreland was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas with assistance from the Las Vegas Police Department and will be transported to Kern County.
Kern County District Attorney's Office
The Kern County District Attorney's Office said the case involved an alleged 13-year-old girl at the Pineridge Apartment Complex in east Bakersfield in 2021. Moreland made a name for himself with online rant videos, mostly about the Philadelphia Eagles, before the allegations became public.
The documentary titled The Sick Mind of EDP445 revisited one of two vigilante online sting operations against him. In one scene, Moreland told Chris Hansen, “I showed up that day trying to meet up with an underage girl.”
2021 and the documentary
Prosecutors said the investigation stalled in 2021 because the reporting parties did not cooperate. After the documentary was released, the case was reexamined, and the District Attorney's Office determined that the evidentiary threshold for filing charges had been met after reviewing the new material.
Mike Clum, the documentary producer and director, said all proceeds from the film are being donated to RAINN. For readers following the case now, the immediate change is simple: the allegation is no longer just an online sting claim from years ago, but a felony case moving through the Kern County system after the documentary prompted prosecutors to act.
