A Canadian man allegedly pretended to be a teenager to sexually exploit a Tennessee girl online

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – A lengthy investigation ended late last month with the arrest of a Canadian man accused of sexually exploiting a Tennessee girl online.

The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT).

According to authorities, the suspect, 38-year-old Tyler Clark, was arrested on April 25 at his home in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The crimes he is accused of date back to 2021, when the victim was only 11 years old.

According to investigators, over 7,000 messages were exchanged between the girl and Clark. During their conversations, he allegedly forced the girl to share “sexually explicit photos” with him through multiple online chat applications.

“We are talking about daily conversations that only stopped when the victim’s parents discovered it. This further highlights the need for parents to take a proactive role in understanding what their children are doing online,” said ALERT ICE Staff Sgt. Mark Auger.

Clark reportedly told the girl that he was 13 years old when they started exchanging messages. A search of Clark’s home resulted in the seizure of several computers and electronic devices that are still being analyzed by investigators.

He is charged with child enticement, providing sexually explicit materials to children, producing child pornography, possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Clark was released from custody on a number of court conditions and is awaiting his next court date, scheduled for May 22.

“This arrest was only possible because of the amazing responsiveness of the global network of like-minded cyber crimes against children investigators. Together, we have pushed boundaries and remained true to our shared goal of bringing justice to adults who exploit our children,” said ICAC Task Force Detective Paul Lusk.

Anyone with further information about the investigation or a child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police department or report their concerns anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222 TIPS.