Steven DeGroot, 54, of Caledonia has been arrested by the Michigan State Police on charges of distributing or promoting child sexually abusive activity, according to an MSP media release.
MSP detectives learned that a child was being enticed to manufacture and send child sexually abusive material via the internet in return for a gift card, the release said. A search warrant was executed at DeGroot’s home and digital evidence was seized. Troopers from the MSP Wayland Post assisted in the execution of the search warrant and arrest of DeGroot.
The Michigan State Police (MSP) Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigation was initiated when an ICAC task force member in Missouri forwarded the tip to the Fifth District Computer Crimes Unit.
The MSP Computer Crimes Unit encourages parents to speak to their children about the safe use of the internet. There are many resources available to parents to assist in keeping children safe online.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a comprehensive list of resources on their website at http://www.missingkids.org. Anyone with information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, can report it to the CyberTipLine athttp://www.missingkids.org/cybertipline.
