Federal Authorities Arrest Hollywood Man on Child Exploitation Charges Involving Discord Communications

A 30-year-old Hollywood resident was taken into custody Tuesday on federal charges stemming from allegations that he engaged in sexually explicit communications with a minor on the Discord messaging platform. The suspect, identified as Christopher Larry Richards III, allegedly initiated contact with a Washington, D.C. teenager in December and maintained an inappropriate relationship that included the exchange of sexual content.

The victim disclosed the online interactions to a school counselor in February, triggering a report to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents subsequently extracted chat histories from the girl’s phone as part of their investigation, which revealed how the communications escalated from casual conversation to romantic and sexual exchanges.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Richards allegedly told the girl he wanted to develop a relationship beyond friendship. When the victim mentioned she had recently turned 14, Richards responded, “Thank you for reminding me. You literally just turned 14.” The pair continued exchanging explicit messages and videos afterward, court documents indicate.

Investigators traced Richards’ Discord username, “HitDatShot#0,” to his home IP address in Hollywood. He now faces four federal charges: coercion and enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to minors, and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material. Richards is scheduled for a Wednesday morning appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court and is currently detained at the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail pending extradition to Washington, D.C.