Former Minnesota reserve sheriff pleads guilty in child sex abuse material case
A 29-year-old former reserve deputy for a northern Minnesota county pleaded guilty Monday to spreading child sexual abuse material via Snapchat, according to the Isanti County Attorney's Office.
Tyler Pettit, from Isle, was charged in 2024 with four counts of disseminating pornographic material involving children 14 and younger. Pettit was a volunteer, non-sworn reserve deputy for Mille Lacs County, and had also worked at a group home where children lived.
According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted the sheriff's office in May 2024 that a Snapchat account tied to one of Pettit's email addresses uploaded four videos to another user a month earlier showing boys as young as 8 being abused.
Investigators from both Mille Lacs and Isanti counties also uncovered online messages where Pettit pretended to be a boy and stated his sexual attraction to children, the complaint states.
Back in 2024, Sheriff Kyle Burton announced he had arrested Pettit himself, adding he "felt that it was important that that come from me, that as the sheriff, I'm going to hold you accountable." He also put Pettit on administrative leave and confiscated his reserve deputy equipment.
Burton said "professional photos" of some child residents of the group home where Pettit had once worked were also found on his phone during the investigation. Pettit had passed background checks for both jobs, according to Burton.
Pettit is expected to be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 8.
If you know of a child who may have been a victim of exploitation, call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or visit the website.
