A Tennessee man was taken into custody on Sunday after being accused of trying to sexually exploit a 14-year-old girl he met online, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
In a release, deputies said they received a call last month that the girl had run away from her home in southeast Marion County.
Investigators said they discovered that she had been using the online platform Discord to have “inappropriate conversations” with Wesley Hurd, 29, who went by the username “Vile.vil.”
Detectives soon learned that the girl hadn’t just run away from home — she had been picked up by Hurd and brought back to his home in Tennessee, the release shows.
Hurd had been “grooming” her, encouraging her to produce child pornography with an 8-year-old and kidnap the child for him, detectives said.
He had also persuaded her to brand herself by carving the letters “VIL” — part of his username — into parts of her body, according to the release.
Eventually, deputies tracked down Hurd and the 14-year-old, and Hurd was arrested, deputies said.
In an interview, Hurd admitted that he would often find “vulnerable underage girls” online, encouraging them to hurt themselves while he watched via video, according to investigators. He would then reportedly create and distribute pornography to these girls.
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Deputies said the man had a habit of encouraging "vulnerable" young girls to brand themselves with the letters “VIL” — part of his online username.
Detective Chase King was able to get Hurd's IP address and contacted Tennessee authorities to go to the residence. Tennessee officials went to the location and found Hurd and the 14-year-old girl.
Arrested, King and Osthed went to Tennessee to interview Hurd. There, Hurd told them he seeks underage girls on the internet, tells them to harm themselves and then watches the acts via video.
Hurd said he creates and sends pornographic pictures and videos of the children.
The detectives found the images on Hurd's phone, and said he has convinced other children to do sadomasochistic abuse and bestiality.
Hurd has since been extradited to Marion County, and is presently locked up at the county jail with no bond.
Charges against Hurd include human trafficking, possession of child porn, aggravated child abuse and branding of a victim in relation to human trafficking.
Man found with Marion County teen in Tennessee charged with human trafficking, other offenses
Marion County Sheriff's Office detectives believe there could be more victims.
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