Sunday School Teacher Arrested On Child Sex Charges

From the Justice Department:

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced that Tye Braxton Stiger, age 35, of Jonesville, made his initial appearance in the Western District of Michigan on February 14, 2023.

A federal grand jury previously returned an indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of possession of child pornography.

After indictment, law enforcement found and arrested Stiger in the Philippines, then extradited him to the United States for federal prosecution.

“These sexual exploitation and child pornography allegations are extremely disturbing and serious,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office is committed to protecting our youngest and most vulnerable citizens – our children.”

This matter was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office by the Hillsdale County Prosecutor. There is also a related, outstanding 34-count warrant out of Hillsdale County against Stiger charging second degree criminal sexual conduct, aggravated sexually abusive activity, aggravated possession of sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime, and installing/using an eavesdropping device.

The Hillsdale Daily News reports:



Stiger — a former church volunteer linked to at least two local churches over the past decade — came under investigation of the Michigan State Police in February 2022 when a former victim of his came forward. The victim alleged that Stiger sexually abused her as a child between 2009 and 2015 while Stiger acted as a Sunday school teacher.

The incidents occurred at several homes where he resided and during a church camping trip. As a result of the police investigation, a search warrant was executed at Stiger’s home on Feb. 23, 2022, where a number of devices were seized from the home including cell phones and computers.

There were over a dozen videos of Stiger placing a hidden camera at various locations to secretly record minor children changing and many of the children in the videos remain unidentified.