GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man accused of enticing young girls to send him sexually explicit photos in Muskegon County is now accused of similar activity in Kent County.
Chad Steven Derry faces 11 felony charges in both counties that could put him in prison for decades. Charges include aggravated child sexually abusive activity, indecent exposure and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
He was arrested in mid-July and charged in Muskegon County with soliciting child porn from girls. Investigators say he made contact with girls on Instagram and convinced them to take inappropriate photos and videos.
Several victims were identified, police said.
Derry faces five felony charges in two Muskegon County cases. Bond in the most serious case was set $1 million.
In Kent County, warrants were authorized in early October charging Derry with six felony offenses in two separate cases.
At the core was his use of social media to entice girls to send sexually explicit photos. He’s also charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker says it is not uncommon for sexual predators to use social media in search of child victims.
“It’s a window to the world that kids didn’t have in the past; a new form of stranger danger,’’ Becker said. “Computer access, phone access, whatever you’re doing on the internet is a much greater danger and we see that much more often.’’
Recent cases include a 66-year-old sex offender who convinced a 12-year-old boy to take photos of himself dressed in a diaper.
Derry came under scrutiny in June when Norton Shores police were contacted by the parents of an 11-year-old girl, who said their daughter was having explicit conversations on Instagram with a subject named “Kendra.’’
The 11-year-old girl was sending nude images and videos of herself to the username “Kmarie.’’ In return, the username “Kmarie’’ was sending vaginal and anal videos of what appeared to be an underage individual, court records show.
Investigators traced the Instagram account to Derry’s address on Pine Ridge Parkway NE in Kent County’s Plainfield Township, court records show.
Police conducted a search of Derry’s apartment and determined he was behind the username “Kmarie,’’ court records show.
“There were admissions by Derry he was sending videos of young girls from his ‘Kmarie’ account and in return, these girls would send him videos back and he saved them onto his cellphone device,’’ Detective Marcus Glover wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
Derry also admitted to having contact with a 9-year-old girl he knew through a friend. He admitted to taking photos of her while she was clothed, although the focus of the photos was of her legs spread apart.
The girl told an interviewer at the Children’s Assessment Center that Derry also touched her inappropriately. One of the occurrences happened during a car ride and another occurred when Derry was babysitting, court records show.
The girl disclosed that Derry “kept trying to grab her with his hands and putting her on his lap,’’ court records show.
The activity occurred between March and late August; “Derry told her not to tell her mother,’’ according to the probable cause affidavit.
Police retrieved electronic devices from Derry’s apartment which contained child pornography, court records show.
The collection included a video of a girl between the ages of 4 and 6 being sexually assaulted and numerous other images of child sexually abusive material, court records show.
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