DARLINGTON — A 34-year-old Gratiot man is facing child pornography charges after a tip from a national crime hotline led to a local investigation of downloaded images.

Authorities allege the man received and offered to pay for sexualized of images of children under 18 primarily using accounts on the communication/social media platform known as Discord. 

Daniel J. Stietz was arrested June 19 following the execution of an early-morning search warrant in which they seized multiple devices from his home. Along with images, the criminal complaint against him includes transcripts of alleged text/chat message exchanges between potential sources of illegal material.

“What do u (sic) wanna’ pay for?” said one chat entry, from an alleged source, to the defendant.

As a result of the investigation, Stietz was charged with four felony counts of possession of child pornography, and a single count of misdemeanor bail jumping.

In another part of the criminal complaint, he is described as allegedly negotiating details of a picture swap during an online chat about the details of the exchange, which involves a victim whom he is told is 12; and also whom the seller refers to at one point as his sister.

“We can take photos now if you want,” replies the seller of the images. 

In July, the case was transferred from Circuit Judge Jenna Gill to Circuit Judge Jane Bucher, according to court records. Stietz remains free on $20,000 bond, posted on June 23, with his arraignment on the charges scheduled for August 28 before Bucher, according to records.

The tip to local law enforcement originally came from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC) and the Internet Crimes Against Children Data System. The NCMEC, a nonprofit national organization, works with law enforcement agencies nationwide to combat child exploitation and abuse, and has sparked numerous area investigations into online child porn activity resulting in arrests and felony charges.