Euclid man arrested after he directed a 13-year-old girl to send him nude photos of herself and threatened to share the photos with her friends if she did not send more

A Euclid man was arrested after he directed a 13-year-old girl to send him nude photos of herself and threatened to share the photos with her friends if she did not send more.

Tyrin B. Davis, 20, was charged in U.S. District Court in Cleveland with one count of sexual exploitation of a child.

“This case demonstrates the danger posed by the Internet, particularly for teens posting photos and communicating with people they don’t really know,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “Parents and trusted adults need to make it their business to know who their kids are talking to.”

"These cases are a painful reminder that we can never have enough conversations with our children about the potential dangers of the internet,” said Homeland Security Investigations' Special Agent in Charge Steve Francis. “Through our iGuardian educational program, HSI is fully committed to ensuring that parents and young people have all the information they need when it comes to online safety.”

According to an affidavit filed in the case:

The Toronto (Canada) Police Service’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit contacted Homeland Security Investigations after learning the 13-year-old had been enticed and extorted into sending multiple sexually explicit images of herself via Instagram and Snapchat. The girl and her mother approached the Toronto Police Service in May 2018 to report the ongoing extortion.

The suspect told the girl he would pay $1,000 if she were to send nude photos of herself. The girl stated her parents were going through a rough time financially and she thought that by sending the photos, she could do her part to help.

She sent a few nude photos, at which point the suspect began to send messages asking for more. The girl later said that the suspect told her that if she did not send more, he would put the ones she already sent online for the world to see. As a result, she sent more photos of herself to the suspect.

Once the victim realized things had gone too far, she attempted to stop communication with the suspect. The suspect sent nude photos of her to several of her friends on Instagram. The suspect also communicated with the victim’s cousin on Instagram and stated that if the cousin did not send nude pictures of herself, the suspect would post more nude photos of the 13-year-old online.

Investigators eventually traced the messages to the 13-year-old victim to an IP address assigned to Tyrin Davis on Chestnut Lane in Richmond Heights. Davis subsequently moved to Euclid.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Toronto Police Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Sullivan.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.  

A charge is only an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.  The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.