Mother of an 11-year-old boy finds naked pictures of his pastor, 30, on his phone
- Florida woman made shocking discovery after alert from phone company
- She traced the number to Wilmington church pastor Tyler Sinkus Smither
- The 30-year-old was arrested and charged with indecent liberties with a child
Mugshot of Tyler Sinkus Smither who is charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a child
The mother of an 11-year-old boy found naked pictures of his pastor on his mobile phone.
The Florida woman recognized the man in the indecent photos and typed his phone number into Facebook.
It led her to Harbor United Methodist Church pastor Tyler Sinkus Smither.
The 30-year-old youth pastor from Wilmington, North Carolina was arrested and is charged with two counts of indecent liberties with a child.
An affidavit, written by a New Hanover County Sheriff’s Detective Christina Starman, says that Smither first contacted the boy using a chat website, Omegle.
The pair began talking and Smither allegedly sent photos of his face and other parts of his body including his genitals, reports Star News Online.
His distinctive tattoos were also visible.
'The suspect did not stop the conversation and continued to send nude photos of himself, as well as ask for more photos of the juvenile,' Detective Starman wrote in the affidavit.
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Lead pastor at the church, Russ Nanney, told Star News that Smither's employment with the church ended the day he was arrested.
It is believed that Nanney addressed the situation in a sermon he gave two days after Smither's arrest - although he did not refer to him by name.
Smither allegedly sent photos of his face and other parts of his body including his genitals to the 11-year-old boy and asked him to send photos back
Speaking to the congregation Nanney said: 'He is a man who was loved, a man who we trusted, a man with whom we share memories and laughter with, but a man who fell.
'I have yet to process this. I have processed it in my head, but not in my heart.'
The mother of the boy found the naked pictures thanks to a parental control option she had set up on her son's phone.
Verizon, his cell provider, notified her that a stranger had been contacting her son so she had a look on the phone.
Smither was released on a $100,000 bond after his arrest, reported WFTV.
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