Madison County man charged after allegedly sending sexual messages to underage girl in other state
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REXBURG — A 21-year-old Madison County man has been charged with multiple felonies after allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a minor living across the country.
Colton Pierson was originally scheduled to appear at the Madison County courthouse on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, but it has been waived. A future court date has been set for February.
Pierson has been charged with six felonies, according to court records. These include four counts of willfully possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material, one count of inducing or permitting a child to engage in or be used for child sexually exploitative material, and one count of enticing a child through the internet.
Background
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in December, a detective who is part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was assigned a case originating from the Holly Springs Police Department in North Carolina.
The case involved Pierson communicating with a minor from North Carolina and sending inappropriate images to her, documents said.
In June, detectives met with Pierson at the Rexburg Police Department. Pierson told police that he had an online girlfriend in North Carolina who was 19 years old.
He reportedly said that he later heard from her that she was really 16. According to court documents, she is 13 years old.
Later, Pierson told police the girl told him she might have to repeat middle school because she wasn’t doing well.
Pierson denied being friends with her on Facebook, but detectives later found that the two were friends on Facebook.
He told police that he had been in a relationship with her for over a year. Pierson said that he hasn’t ever met with her in person, but they talk online through game applications, including Roblox and Discord.
Pierson showed his phone to the police after they asked him about it. There were sexually charged messages, and he spoke to her as his “sex slave,” documents said.
There were many messages that were graphic in nature. The detective asked if Pierson ever requested naked pictures from her, and he allegedly said no.
Law enforcement found nude images were sent to him, court documents said. Pierson said that the images were saved on his phone gallery and that he had deleted them after police made a visit to his home. He told police that the first time he was sent them was not long after their relationship began, court documents said.
Detectives asked him how old he thought she really was. Documents said he hesitated and said, “Maybe 15 or 16.”
He admitted sending inappropriate messages to her. The two sent each other videos of themselves engaged in sexual acts, according to court documents.
In one message sent to the girl, Pierson allegedly wrote, “I just want you to be safe. If they found out we are still talking, the cops will probably come after me.”
He reportedly sent her another message later that said, “I don’t care what happens, I don’t care if I go to jail.”
An arrest warrant was issued in December, and Pierson was given a $25,000 bond. He has since posted it.
Pierson has been bound to district court and is scheduled for an arraignment at the Madison County Courthouse on Feb. 5 at 9 a.m.
Though Pierson has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.