A Des Moines man has been arrested for and charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and invasion of privacy in Polk County. However, Tyler Pavlick, 32, will also face charges in Marshall County.

The charges date back to Sept. 23 when the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office began conducting an investigation. Deputies responded to Lincoln Valley Golf Course in State Center for a report of a concealed camera in a portable toilet which was temporarily placed on the property for a scheduled event.

At that time, the West Marshall Community School District was hosting a sponsored cross-country meet on the golf course property which several school districts were participating. Students were male and female, middle and high school.

The State Center Police Department was supervising the meet when a group of participants alerted them to what they believed was a concealed camera. School officials were notified immediately. The device was removed and turned over to law enforcement, including the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation Cyber Crime Unit for forensic examination. Interviews of potential witnesses were conducted along with securing potential surveillance video that may have captured evidence of the person or persons involved.

Due to the large amount of participants, attendees and vehicles arriving and leaving, investigators began sorting through evidence and developed a partial image of a person and vehicle of interest. That information was distributed through the Iowa Law Enforcement Intelligence Network Fusion Center to find similar crimes or potential identification of the person.

On Oct 6, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office investigators were informed by Des Moines Police Department detectives they were investigating a similar incident which detectives believed were committed by the same suspect.

On Tuesday, the Des Moines Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office received results from digital evidence which identified a suspect in both investigations. The next day, Wednesday, search warrants were issued at an apartment complex in Des Moines.

Pavlick was taken into custody without incident and is in the Polk County Jail. A detainer has been placed on him as additional arrest warrants will be issued out of Marshall County for multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is a class B felony and invasion of privacy, an aggravated misdemeanor.

This incident remains under investigation by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office which anticipates additional charges as victims are identified. If anyone used the portable toilet near the starting line while attending the West Marshall District Cross Country Meet at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course on Sept. 23 between 3:30 p.m. to 4:40 p.m., they are asked to please contact the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office by using the online crime tip link at https://www.marshallcountysheriff.com/crime_tips/