MS Coast worship leader arrested for producing child porn linked to the UK, investigator says
A Mississippi Coast worship leader and former real estate agent is facing federal charges for the production and distribution of child pornography, according to court papers.
Tyler Selby, a 33-year-old Saucier resident, was arrested Tuesday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with one count each of possession and production of child pornography.
A shackled Selby appeared before Judge Robert Myers in federal court in Gulfport after his arrest. A public defender was appointed to represent him.
The judge ordered Selby held without bond pending a detention hearing.
An investigation began into Selby’s alleged criminal activity after Homeland Security Investigation’s Cyber Crime Center received a tip from the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom about a Skype user, later identified as Selby, producing and sharing child pornography with someone in the UK.
Selby, identified as Skype user “cj dereks,” was allegedly sharing child pornography over the Internet with a person in the UK who “poses online (as a minor girl) to obtain child sexual abuse material.”
The UK user goes by the alias of “Emma Long” and claims to be 17. The user shares a video of what is described as Emma’s 5-year-old sister engaged in sexually explicit activity.
The UK user shares the videos with people, the complaint says, to entice followers like Selby to sexually abuse children and send videos of the abuse to share with others.
While investigating the case in the UK, investigators found online video footage of a man, later identified as Selby, masturbating in a bathtub with a small naked boy in the bathtub with him. In the 20-minute video, authorities said, Selby directs the boy to wash Selby’s gentials with a rag.
As part of the investigation, HSI special agent Danyelle Evans said, agents tracked down images of Selby from his driver’s license and social media accounts to identify him as the man allegedly engaging in sexually explicit conduct in the videos..
Authorities performed a database search to find out where Selby lives with his wife and children and serves as a worship leader at a Baptist church in Saucier.
During the investigation, Evans said, authorities also learned Selby worked for a pest control company.
Before Selby’s arrest, agents did surveillance on his home.
On Sept 7, the agent said, authorities drove by Selby’s home and found a black pickup truck in the driveway that was registered to him, along with a white sedan bearing a logo from his employer at the pest control company.
Agents returned to the home on Sept. 11, Evans said, and watched as Selby entered the passenger’s side of the white sedan to retrieve what appeared to be a small electronic device attached to a lanyard.
Later the same day, agents said Selby left the home in a white sedan allegedly carrying the portable electronic device. According to the investigator, it is common for alleged offenders who produce and distribute child pornography to store the images on USB drive and other electronic devices so they can carry them around with them.
Authorities retrieved other evidence prior to taking Selby into custody.
The case remains under investigation pending indictments.
