A Warsaw man has been arrested for having sexually explicit videos and photos on his phone of a minor after allegedly traveling to New York state to have sex with a minor.
Tyler Allen Harmon, 25, of 6515 W. CR 550N, Warsaw, is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, both level 6 felonies.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 11:35 a.m. Monday on a $5,250 preliminary bond.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Jan. 31 an Indiana State Police detective was contacted by an investigator from the New York State Police regarding an investigation of a 24-year-old man from Indiana, identified as Harmon, who traveled to New York state to engage in sex with a minor.
According to the investigator, Harmon began an online relationship with the minor in 2022 and between November 2022 and December 2023 Harmon traveled to New York on three occasions to have sex with the minor, who was - on at least one occasion - 15. The investigator learned of recorded videos of sexual conduct between the minor and Harmon. They had also exchanged sexual images and videos of one another.
The investigator said he interviewed the minor, who said they had been in a long-distance relationship with Harmon, who they met online in November 2022. During the interview, the minor said they and Harmon communicated for a few weeks and they learned he was from Indiana, so they blocked him because they didn’t think they would ever meet due to distance. They said during one of the conversations they had with Harmon, the minor’s age did come up, according to court documents.
During the interview, the minor said there were three times Harmon traveled to New York and rented a hotel room for them to stay in together. The minor said when Harmon was visiting, they never left the hotel room and Harmon said it was due to their age difference.
The minor said the communication with Harmon included the exchange of nudes and videos. The minor said after they broke up, the minor noticed Harmon did not delete the sexual images of the minor on social media. When the minor asked Harmon to delete the images, Harmon refused. The minor said they contacted Harmon to say they suspected their parents had discovered their relationship and Harmon allegedly instructed the minor to delete everything, but said he would save it on his phone, so they would still have it later.
During the investigation, the investigator accessed the minor’s phone and was able to locate photos and videos involving the minor.
On Feb. 5, 2024, after receiving and reviewing informing from the NYSP, the ISP detective went to talk to Harmon.
Harmon admitted to knowing the minor and said they had a variety of conversations. Harmon also said they communicated on a variety of social media platforms and he thought the minor was 17. Harmon said they never discussed the minor’s age, but when they met she appeared to be 18, according to court documents. Harmon said he visited New York three times and he and the minor stayed in the hotel the entire time.
In December 2023, Harmon said he recorded himself having sex with the minor. He initially said he deleted it, but later admitted to still having it on his phone.
The detective took Harmon’s phone into custody as evidence. Upon analysis, the ISP located approximately 75 images and videos depicting the minor and Harmon together.