ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. — On June 23, 2023, Gary Carlson was arrested after an investigation by the Allegan County Sherriff's Office, assisted by the FBI's West Michigan Based Child Exploitation Task Force and the Wyoming Police Department.
Now, almost one year later, Carlson has pled No Contest to 26 felony charges involving his activity with two female children aged 2 and 14 in Allegan County.
Allegan County investigators said Carlson was hired through an online childcare service to care for the two girls. He then allegedly made child sexual abusive materials while supervising them.
The prosecutor in the case, Attorney Myrene Koch, issued the following statement after Carlson entered his plea:
"The convictions in this case were achieved through a great team effort with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office, the Prosecutor's Office, and of course the family involved. The safety of our children is vitally important in our community and a number one priority of the Prosecutor's Office."
Carlson is charged with the following:
- 9 Counts Criminal Sexual Conduct First Degree
- 8 Counts Aggravated Criminal Sexually Abusive Material
- 8 Counts Using Computer to Commit Crime
- 1 County Accosting a Minor for Immoral Purposes
According to the warrant affidavit following Carlson's initial arrest, Allegan County deputies obtained a search warrant of Carlson's cell phone and found multiple sexually abusive videos of the two-year-old girl.
He's also alleged to have had sexual conversations with the girl's 14-year-old sister.
After the initial discovery and arrest, Sheriff Frank Baker said families should not rely on the provider to properly vet a caregiver.
"There are some resources available as parents and employers. They can utilize "IChat" which is available through the state so they can run a criminal history. Obviously we're pretty familiar with the state sex offender registry," said Baker. "A lot of people utilize security cams in their home. Making them aware you have security cams throughout your home so they know they're being surveilled so hopefully that can deter anybody from doing anything inappropriate with your loved one inside your home."
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