CARLTON — A 31-year old Cloquet man has been charged with two counts of possessing and disseminating pornographic material involving minors.
James Tuttle, 31, was arraigned Friday, Jan. 27, in State District Court in Carlton where he faces two felony charges. Judge Rebekka Lynn Stumme set bail at $12,500.
According to the criminal complaint, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shared a tip with Cloquet police in December that Tuttle may be sharing sexually explicit photos of children through the messenger app Kik.
Six files were determined considered to be sexually explicit involved girls under the age of 14 and were all dated Aug. 22, 2022, the complaint said.
Using the associated Kik username and IP address through a record subpoena, a modem was located at Tuttle's residence, the complaint said.
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The first of two search warrants was executed Jan. 13, in which the investigator received a response from Kik that the IP address associated with the defendant was the only one used to access the account from July 12, 2022 to Sept. 9, 2022.
A second search warrant was executed at Tuttle's home, and electronic devices were seized for analysis, the complaint said.
After authorities read Tuttle his Miranda Rights, he was interviewed and made incriminating statements about being a part of groups on Kik that share sexually explicit images of children, according to the complaint. Tuttle went on to say that he was sharing the material through direct messages and would use them to be verified and admitted to the sharing groups.
Minnesota court records indicate Tuttle has previously been convicted of two felony charges for distributing via electronic communication material that relates/describes sexual conduct to a child in Pine and Ramsey counties in 2014.
Tuttle’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 1.
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