BLOOMINGTON— A Bloomington man was arrested on Friday, April 5, after investigators found files containing child porn on his electronic devices and recovered social media conversations with minors to create a nude modeling scheme.
Police arrested 38-year-old Dustin R. Shertzer on charges of child exploitation and possession of child pornography, both Level 5 felonies.
According to court documents, the investigation began on March 14 when detectives with the Bloomington Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about an account on Kik that possibly contained and distributed child porn. Kik shut down the account because of the platform activity.
Investigators linked Shertzer to the account by using an IP address and comparing “selfies” on the account to the photo on Shertzer’s driver’s license. Shertzer claimed to be a photographer based in Indiana near IU. Investigators reported that the account offered to “fly in or meet up with minors” who would be asked to model either clothed or nude.
In one of the recovered online chats, Shertzer was chatting with a woman who said she has three daughters, aged one, five, and nine. Additionally, the woman allegedly asked Shertzer if he has buyers for child porn, and Shertzer replied that it is “harder to sell in the U.S.”
In other conversations, police say Shertzer admitted to being involved with kids as young as 9-years-old. Investigators say that Shertzer repeatedly communicated with people on the platform under 18, including those as young as 14.
Detectives located Shertzer on April 4 while driving on Old State Road 37 and Fairfax Road and conducted a traffic stop.
Investigators say that Shertzer admitted to using the social media platform Kik and that he had child porn of kids younger than 12 years old but said he never actually touched or met up with a child. Shertzer confessed to trying to start the nude modeling scheme for “financial gain.”
Shertzer was arrested and held on a $10,000.00 surety bond and a $1,000.00 cash bond. He posted a bond and was released. He appeared at Monroe Circuit Court 2 before Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff for an initial hearing on Friday. He is being represented by Attorney Joseph Lozano.
