A Minneapolis substitute teacher is facing more than a dozen felony charges after he was arrested earlier this week with thousands of files of child sexual abuse material on a thumb drive.
A criminal complaint obtained by KSTP revealed how a sting operation by a predator-hunting group resulted in the arrest of 34-year-old Preston Casey Palmer on Wednesday.
Palmer Sent Sexual Messages to a Member of the Vigilante Group Posting as a 13-Year-Old, Bragged About 87GB of Child Sexual Abuse Material
Minneapolis Park Police responded to Brackett Field Park after receiving a report from a vigilante group aimed at exposing child predators that Palmer had plans to distribute child sexual abuse material to another person.
Charging documents allege Palmer had sent “overtly sexual” messages to a 17-year-old member of the group posing as a 13-year-old boy in which Palmer “bragged that he has 87 gigabytes of child sexual abuse materials” on what he called his “pedophone.”
Some of the conversations involved Palmer sending nude images to the child and talking about “really cute boys in 3rd grade” whom he “pictured naked when I was teaching.”
Palmer was Arrested After ‘Predator Poachers’ Set Up Meeting with Him, Told Police He was an ‘Addict’
Alex Rosen with “Predator Poachers,” the group that organized the sting, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he “took over” communications with Palmer after receiving a credible tip.
He added he gained rapport with Palmer through five different phone calls before agreeing to meet up after Palmer offered to share child sex abuse material with him. During that meeting, members of the citizen group reported Palmer to the police.
When officers arrived, the person Palmer met up with said Palmer had illicit images on a flash drive and on his phone that needed to be deleted. During the arrest, Palmer said he was “an addict” and said he would end up with a felony charge and be placed on a registry.
Officers found 18,466 media files organized into more than 1,000 folders on Palmer’s phone. Forty randomly selected files were found to contain images and video of child sexual abuse.
Palmer Fired from the School, District Officials Confirmed
Palmer was hired by Minneapolis Public Schools in November, and he was working at Sullivan STEAM School at the time of his arrest. Palmer was previously employed by the district but didn’t have an assignment at the time of his arrest. School district officials confirmed he is no longer employed there as of Friday.
After the arrest, Minneapolis Park Police conducted a search warrant at Palmer’s house and found more evidence of child sexual abuse material. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is now involved in the investigation.
Court records show Palmer faces 14 total felony charges, including counts relating to possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material and sending sexually explicit messages to a child. He is being held at the Hennepin County Jail on $250,000 bail. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
