Isle man arrested on child porn charges

A 28-year-old Isle man, who had served as a reserve deputy for the Mille Lacs Sheriff’s Department, was arrested Sept. 18 on warrants citing four felony counts of disseminating pornographic work including minors under the age of 14.

Sheriff Kyle Burton announced the arrest, which he made in person at the man’s residence in Isle, and described the investigation in a Facebook post Thursday, Sept. 19. He said, “those of you that know me know that I don’t just preach transparency, but practice it, and I hold people accountable, even if it’s our own folks that work here or are affiliated with our office.”

In the video post on the department’s Facebook page, the sheriff outlined the situation and the actions taken:

The sheriff was notified a few months ago through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, about a cyber tip they received concerning some possible distribution of child pornography. “The person allegedly involved in doing that was a reserve deputy who worked here as a volunteer for the Sheriff’s Office,” he said. Burton described the role of reserve deputy as a volunteer who helps out during special events, such as traffic control for a local parade.

Reserve deputies undergo a full background check and training process, he said. When alerted to the situation, Burton put the person on administrative leave and took his equipment away from him.

The sheriff contacted the Isanti County Sheriff’s Department and asked them to conduct a criminal investigation. “We don’t conduct criminal investigations on our own staff to avoid the appearance of any type of conflict,” he said. The investigation took several months and warrants were issued on Sept. 17 for the person’s arrest. The criminal charges were all at the felony level, four counts of disseminating pornographic work minors under the age of 14. Each one of the four counts carries a 15-year maximum sentence or $20,000 fine or both.

“Once we got this warrant, I personally went up to his house in Isle and I arrested him myself … and I drove him to jail and I booked him in. I felt that it was important that it came from me, that as the sheriff, I’m going to hold you accountable, especially if you are somebody who had previously represented this office,” Burton said. Such behavior is “a black eye for the profession, but he is in custody,” Burton said.

Burton acknowledged that some people will ask, how does someone like that get involved in a law enforcement agency, considering a background check had been conducted. The person had previously worked in a group home in Mille Lacs County and had completed a very lengthy background check there.

He cited the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, as being vital in identifying the situation and the person involved. “The ICAC Task Force is a nationwide partner that receives cyber tips from people when they see things that aren’t right, and that’s how we received this. And thankfully we received that information and we were able to act on it,” he concluded.

In the Facebook video, the sheriff identified the person as Tyler Austin Pettit, a 28-year-old male from Isle. The court filings also identify Pettit. He was arraigned Thursday, with bail set at $60,000 or $20,000 bonded. He did put up the $20,000 bond.