A 35-year-old Turlock man was arrested on suspicion of two felony offenses after police say he was caught messaging someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and continued the conversation even after learning her age. Anthony Wyatt was arrested following a tip about the communications, according to investigators, and was booked on suspicion of offenses tied to contacting a minor for a sexual purpose and an offense involving obscene material depicting a minor.
The case began when someone flagged the exchanges to authorities, as reported by fox40.com, which cited the Turlock Police Department’s Wednesday announcement that Wyatt had been arrested on child exploitation-related charges. Police say a tip alerted them to inappropriate online communication between Wyatt and someone he believed to be 13 years old. According to CBS Sacramento, the arrest followed police receiving that tip about Wyatt’s communications, and officers said they were grateful to the person who brought the messages to their attention.
Detectives Trace an Alleged Pattern of Messages
Once the tip came in, detectives worked to determine who Wyatt had actually been talking to. The outlet’s report notes that investigators were able to determine Wyatt had been communicating with an individual posing to be a minor through social media. That individual was allegedly posing as a minor rather than being the age Wyatt believed, though police say Wyatt engaged in the conversations under the impression he was speaking with a 13-year-old girl.
What investigators say makes the case especially troubling is the timeline of the messages. Despite being told the individual’s age, Wyatt continued conversations and allegedly requested sexually explicit photographs from the girl, per the same account. Police say he kept pursuing the exchange even after that disclosure, rather than ending contact.
Booked on Suspicion of Felonies
Wyatt was ultimately booked on suspicion of two felony offenses: contacting a minor with intent to commit a sexual crime, and an offense involving obscene material depicting a minor, the station’s report states. The arrest took place in Turlock, in Stanislaus County, and police have not released additional details about the booking beyond the offenses themselves.
The case lands amid a broader national surge in reports of online enticement involving children. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says it assisted law enforcement with 29,568 cases of missing children in 2024 and helped bring 91% of them home, according to NCMEC. The organization also reported a 1,325% increase in CyberTipline reports involving generative AI technology that year, along with nearly 100 reports of financial sextortion received per day. The nonprofit has not linked those trends to Wyatt’s case specifically, and no connection between the two has been established.
NCMEC has also pointed to the REPORT Act, which expanded mandatory reporting requirements in 2024 to include online enticement and child sex trafficking, a change the organization says coincided with child sex trafficking reports rising 55% from 2023. No further details about Wyatt’s custody status, legal representation, or upcoming court dates have been made public.
