Metro Nashville Police arrested Lipscomb University freshman Tyler Carden on charges of child pornography Tuesday.
Metro received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on the case, which led to a on-campus search of Carden’s room in High Rise via search warrant.
Carden is a mechanical engineering major from Fredericksburg, Virginia.
According to the Davidson County affidavit, the 18-year-old Carden informed the police at the time of his arrest that he had downloaded sexual photos of underage children to his iPod and iPad, as well as a Microsoft One Drive account from his room on campus.
An email address used by Carden to download 50 images involving underage boys performing sexual activities was traced back to a Lipscomb University IP address.
Carden was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. He was released from jail the following day on a $15,000 bond.
Senior Vice President of Student Life Scott McDowell commented on the matter in an email to students.
“As you may be aware, one of our freshman university students was arrested [Tuesday] on cyber child pornography charges,” McDowell wrote. “Obviously we are deeply disturbed about this, and the student recognizes the severity of his actions.
“Because this is an ongoing police investigation, we cannot share details with you. We are cooperating fully with authorities.”
McDowell invited students to contact him or Dean of Student Life Sam Smith in their Bennett Campus Center offices with concerns on the matter.
Additional reporting by Logan Butts
Photo courtesy of Metro Police