TBI: McMinn girl used for child porn and other news from areas around Chattanooga

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TBI: McMinn girl used for child porn

NASHVILLE - 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 Wednesday.

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 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 assisted in the investigation, the release stated.


Molestation case jury still out

LAFAYETTE, Ga. - A Walker County jury deciding whether a Chattooga County employee is guilty of molesting a 15-year-old girl will reconvene today.

After four hours of deliberation Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Ralph Van Pelt dismissed the 11 men and one woman early from court for a doctor's appointment.

The trial for 67-year-old Alvin Moses began Monday. He was charged with one count of aggravated sexual battery and four counts of child molestation in 2009, after the teenage girl complained to her aunt.

She told police that Moses had watched her take a shower and sexually assaulted her when she, her younger sister and her mother were living with Moses and his wife at his LaFayette home. At trial, Moses' attorney Rex Abernathy questioned the inconsistencies in the girl's story from the time she complained to police to her testimony Monday.


Woman facing marijuana charges

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. - A Jasper, Tenn., woman was arrested Tuesday in Bridgeport, Ala., after a traffic stop led to the discovery of 4.5 ounces of marijuana in her car, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

A Bridgeport police officer stopped Tenisa Nicole Farmer, 29, for reckless driving, according to the release. Officers searched the car and found 35 bags of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Unit responded to assist in the investigation.

Farmer was charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia and remains in the Jackson County Jail on $3,000 bond.

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