Staff Report

WARSAW – A Crawfordsville man has been arrested for alleged child solicitation charges.

Tyler Russell Spore, 22, Crawfordsville, is charged with child solicitation, a level 5 felony.

Tyler Russell Spore

On Jan. 14, Kosciusko County dispatch advised officers that a man, later identified as Spore, attempted to meet with a child for sex. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded and spoke to the mother and victim. The mother stated that she arrived home from work to find the victim distressed. When asked what was wrong, the victim stated that they received explicit messages from Spore on Snapchat, starting at 1 a.m. on Jan. 13 and lasting for five and a half hours. The victim took screenshots of most of the messages that were sent to them, and Spore became irate. The victim stated they blocked Spore.

On Jan. 29, the victim participated in a forensic interview at the Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center. The victim stated their age and said they knew Spore as he was a family friend. Spore had messaged them via Snapchat, saying they should “come down.” The victim refused, as it was 1 a.m., and proceeded to take screenshots of the messages. The victim admitted they were scared and crying because Spore had communicated with them in the past, but never in an explicit manner. The victim stated they thought they heard someone knock on their window, but upon asking a friend, they could not confirm that anyone was there.

The victim told their parents the next morning. A detective spoke with a neighbor over the phone, who stated they saw Spore the night he sent the messages to the victim, sitting outside of the victim’s window. The neighbor also said that it was odd because no one parks their car there, and Spore proceeded to reenter his vehicle when the neighbor saw him.

Spore was arrested on Oct. 17 and has been released on his own recognizance.