TWO OVERTON COUNTY MEN CHARGED IN C.S.A.M. INVESTIGATION
OVERTON COUNTY – A joint investigation involving special agents from the TBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Squad, the Overton County Sheriff’s Department, and the Livingston Police Department has resulted in the arrest of two Livingston men.
In July, special agents began an investigation regarding the sexual exploitation of a minor after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
During the investigation special agents determined Payton York (DOB 1/20/2005) and Perrion Cruz (DOB 6/1/2003) created and distributed images and videos of a minor engaged in sexual acts.
On Wednesday, the Overton County Grand Jury indicted York and Cruz charging them with six counts of Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and 13 counts of Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Investigators with the Overton County Sheriff’s Department, the Livingston Police Department, the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s General Office, and the TBI searched Cruz’s home and subsequently took him into custody. TBI agents and officers with the Gallatin Police Department arrested York in Gallatin and transported him to the Overton County Sheriff’s Department. Both were booked into the Overton County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond each.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is an ICAC affiliate of the Tennessee ICAC Task Force. Anyone with information about these cases or other cases of online child exploitation should contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Tipline at 1-800-TBI-FIND, [email protected], or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.
Parents seeking additional information about cybercrime, child exploitation, and how best to safeguard their loved ones can visit http://www.NetSmartz.org for a variety of topical, age-appropriate resources.
The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.
