TOWN OF MONROE — A rural Monroe man was arrested July 7 after investigators reported finding child sexual abuse imagery in his possession, according to the Green County Sheriff’s Office.

Troy Lee Thomm, 39, was jailed pending court on a possession of child pornography charge.

Green County deputies executed a search warrant on Thomm’s home at W6250 Iliff Rd., Town of Monroe, at about 4:45 a.m. July 7, alongside members of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Stateline Area Narcotics Task Force.

The investigation began in early June with a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children related to the distribution of child pornography.

During the search on Thomm’s residence, agents seized a cellular device that “had multiple files that depicted child pornography,” Sheriff Jeff Skatrud reported.

The investigation revealed Thomm was using the chat app Discord to exchange child pornography, District Attorney Craig Nolen said. Nolen expected to file a criminal complaint against Thomm as soon as all reports were in and to hold a bail hearing July 9.

A New York Times investigation in late 2019 found that “sexual predators and other bad actors have found an easy access point into the lives of young people” through multiplayer video games and chat apps like Discord, “making virtual connections right in their victims’ homes.”

A spokesman for Discord told the paper it has a “zero-tolerance policy for any illegal activity,” has moderators reviewing chats considered a high risk and is using “industry-leading technology such as photo-detection software to scan every image and video for child pornography.”