In February of 2016, Jared Andrew Fox was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl that he had met online. The alleged incident took place in October of 2015, in Meridian Township. As a result of this incident and the subsequent investigation, Fox is now facing sexual assault charges in Ingham County, and child pornography charges in Clinton County.

According to the Clinton County Prosecuting Attorney Charles Sherman, Fox pretends to be a 14-year-old boy on the website Meetme.com, where he allegedly engages young girls in sexually suggestive conversations. It was apparently during one of these conversations that Fox was able to convince a young girl to allow him to come to her home, where it is said that he raped her.

After Fox was arrested for the alleged rape and released on bail, the Meridian Township Police in Ingham County were able to obtain a search warrant for his home and car. During the search, officers seized a number of electronic devices, including cell phones, hard drives, tablets and computers.

The devices were all analysed by the Michigan State University Police Department Digital Forensic and Cyber Crime Unit, and found to contain child sexually abusive images, also known as child pornography. As a result, Fox was arrested a second time, this time in Clinton County for possession of child pornography.

He is said to have sexually assaulted one of the teen girls he talked to.

According to Sherman, Fox has been engaged in “large scale distribution of child pornography” which he claims includes sending or receiving a minimum of “383 images and videos of children, some under 5 years old, being sexually assaulted by adults and/or other children.”

In addition to the child porn discovered by investigators, over 600 pages of online dialogue was discovered in which Fox pretended to be a teenaged boy, and attempted to get young girls to engage in sexual activities with him.

Because the child pornography was discovered in Fox’s home, which is located in St. John’s in Clinton County, the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office has jurisdiction in this case. Fox has been charged with distributing or promoting child abusive commercial activity, possession of child sexual abusive material, and using a computer to commit a crime in Clinton County.

However, Fox is still facing charges in Ingham County, where he has been charged with five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit sexual penetration and accosting a child for immoral purposes.

Fox’s next court appearance in Ingham County is scheduled for June 8th, while his preliminary hearing in Clinton County is scheduled for June 9th.