A Des Moines man who was already facing nearly 100 charges in state court over hidden cameras found in portable toilets at public events has now been charged federally.
A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a 13-count indictment on Wednesday, Dec. 10 charging Tyler Boyd Pavlick, 32, with offenses related to sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of children, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
As reported by the Des Moines Register, the indictment alleges Pavlick produced and attempted to produce sexually explicit visual depictions of minors at two cross-country meets for middle school and high school athletes held in Marshall and Clarke counties in September as well as an arts and crafts festival held in Polk County in October. The indictment also alleges Pavlick possessed a computer containing child sexual abuse material.
The allegations first became public in October, when Des Moines police announced a camera had been found inside a portable toilet during the Harvest & Handmade Fair on Oct. 4 at Water Works Park. Dozens of people were unknowingly recorded while entering and using the restroom, according to a Des Moines Police Department news release.
Police said the camera was installed for approximately six hours and was placed under the toilet seat. Adults and children were recorded by the hidden camera.
Pavlick was arrested Oct. 15 after police executed a search warrant at an East Village apartment. Prosecutors charged him in Polk County with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of invasion of privacy related to the Des Moines festival.
The following day, Pavlick was charged with an additional 88 similar charges in Marshall County in connection with a separate incident at a school athletic event.
According to court documents, investigators alleged Pavlick installed a camera inside a portable toilet at a cross-country meet on Sept. 23 at Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center, where several school districts were participating. Witnesses saw the suspect leave the portable toilet after installing the camera and then leave before the races began, court documents said.
Deputies recovered a microSD card from the device that captured "audio and visual depictions of minor children, both males and females, in states of nudity that include standard ways a person utilizes the restroom," according to court documents.
After the federal indictment was returned, state prosecutors in Polk and Marshall counties dismissed their cases Friday.
Pavlick made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday and remains in custody. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 2. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison on each charge.
