Crime tileNASHVILLE - A Maine man has been arrested on child pornography and other charges after he talked a McMinn County girl into sending him nude or sexually explicit images of herself, the TBI said in a news release.
Jermany Scott Claus, 39, was charged with enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce a visual depiction for said conduct, and receipt of child pornography, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation release.
The TBI received information May 18 that Claus had asked the Athens, Tenn., girl to send nude/pornographic images of herself and that the victim texted numerous photos to him.
The 10th Judicial District Attorney General's Office requested TBI to investigate.
TBI conducted an undercover operation with the girl's phone and obtained further evidence to corroborate her statement. Federal warrants were obtained and the Kittery City Police Department searched Claus' house, seizing electronic devices that could contain images of the victim. Claus was booked into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Portland, Maine.
The Athens Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the Kittery City Police Department all assisted in the investigation, the release stated.