Gregory Lawrence Kuhn, 28, was arrested in late August on a felony warrant for distributing sexually explicit verbal or visual material to a minor.
According to Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Megan Stiverson, the material distributed was nude photographs considered harmful in nature, which were distributed to a 16-year-old girl. Stiverson was not aware of the subject of the photos.
Kuhn exercised his right to counsel at a probable cause hearing earlier in the week, delaying the hearing until further notice.
“These kinds of cases are very common in Michigan and the U.S. because they are crimes committed through a computer,” Stiverson said.
Stiverson instructs Hillsdale-area high schoolers on the legal implications of using phones to send photos to others that are sexually explicit in nature, and said she always reminds them that their cellular devices and computers contain technology as powerful as that which NASA used to reach the moon.
“Perpetrators start grooming victims with computer contact, and attempt to distribute it from there,” Stiverson said.
Although unable to speak on her opinion of the outcome of the case, she explained that convictions have been easy on similar cases in the past. Since the photos are taken using an electronic device, it is easy to identify a timestamp and follow the photo as it is forwarded around, Stiverson said.
