CALEDONIA, Mich. — A Caledonia man is accused of soliciting West Michigan girls for sex in exchange for alcohol and vape pens.
The Kent County Sheriff's Office said Scott Elam, 42, who is expected to be arraigned in 63rd District Court Thursday, faces several felony charges.
Detectives said they were tipped off in June when the Human Traffic Task Force learned a 17-year-old girl had sex with an adult man in exchange for alcohol.
After looking into it, they said they found evidence the Caledonia man was talking with multiple teenage girls offering them alcohol and vape pens in exchange for sex and nude pictures.
Authorities believe he talked with several underage girls from West Michigan, including Forest Hills, Lowell, Caledonia and Byron Center.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a teen girl told detectives she didn't know Elam recorded them having sex until he texted her videos. The girl said he also told her that he had many other videos of him having sex with high school-aged girls saved on his phone.
On Wednesday, detectives served a search warrant at the suspect's home and arrested him.
He faces aggravated child sexual abuse activity, aggravated distributing/promoting child sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime, and capturing/distributing images of an unclothed person.
Detectives indicated that the case may expand as they continue their investigation.
If you have any information that can help move the case forward, you're encouraged to call the Kent County Sheriff's Office at 616-632-6125, or call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 to submit a tip anonymously.
