Freeland Resident Arraigned on Child Exploitation and Related Charges

BAY CITY - Nikolas Clark, 22, of Freeland, Michigan, was arraigned today on an indictment that charges him with attempted sexual exploitation of children and other related offenses, announced Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jeremy Pierczynski, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit Field Office.

According to court records, it is alleged that in July 2026, Clark attempted to sexually exploit a child by attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Clark is also alleged to have possessed, and accessed with intent to view, child sexually abusive material, and to have sent obscene material to a minor.   

Clark was arrested on September 10 and detained after a hearing before United States Magistrate Judge Patricia Morris in Bay City.

Clark worked as a paraprofessional at an elementary school in the Bullock Creek School District. Currently, HSI has no information suggesting that any students were victimized. If you and/or your minor dependent(s) have information relevant to this investigation, please call 1-866-347-2423. If you or your minor dependent is identified as a victim in this case, all identities of victims will be kept confidential.

An indictment is only a charging document and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being investigated by HSI with the assistance of the Michigan State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Rawsthorne and Katherine Boothroyd.