By GREGG MONTGOMERY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
A 39-year-old now faces federal charges in the case of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee after state-level charges were dropped.
Zach Myers, a WISH-TV legal analyst, said Monday, Feb. 16 on News 8 that the federal case against Tyler Thomas includes charges of travel and interstate commerce to engage in unlawful sexual contact with a child and child exploitation.
Buzbee was reported missing on Jan. 5, leading to a search that concluded when her remains were found in Perry County, Ohio. Investigators identified Thomas as the last person known to have contact with the Fishers teenager before her death.
Myers explained the transition to federal court. He noted that federal law prohibits creating sexual visual depictions of anyone under age 18, regardless of specific state age-of-consent laws.
“So right now, the state charges have been dropped that he’s charged in federal court with travel and interstate commerce to engage in unlawful sexual contact with a child, as well as with child exploitation,” Myers said. “Now, even though the victim here was 17 under federal law, creating visual depictions that are sexual in nature of someone under 18 of a child is a violation of federal law.”
Federal authorities have a specific window to move the case forward. Myers described the preliminary phase where prosecutors must secure a formal indictment.
“And here, he’s charged with preliminary charges in federal court and they’ve got about 30 days in which they need to get a grand jury to indict him, or he needs to waive his rights, which sometimes people do as they’re trying to consider pleading guilty to a charge,” Myers said.
Myers also discussed the broader context of cases involving adults communicating with children through online platforms and apps such as Roblox and Snapchat. He described these environments as a “digital playground” where adults can build relationships with minors from any location.
“And unfortunately, the bad guys don’t have to go to a playground to find a kid anymore,” Myers said. “They go to the digital playground. And bad guys from all over the region, all over the country, can get to your children with those devices frequently that you put in their hands.”
The legal proceedings against Thomas are expected to be lengthy. Myers said that cases of this nature can take many months or even more than two years to resolve, depending on whether the defendant chooses to proceed to a trial or enter a guilty plea.
“Most federal cases result in guilty pleas and even the extremely serious ones like this,” Myers said. “But ultimately, that’s the decision of the defendant.”
Myers is a partner with Indianapolis-based McCarter & English law firm. He’s a former U.S. attorney in the Indianapolis district. He also leads a cybersecurity and data Privacy Practice.
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/wish-tv-legal-expert-talks-about-federal-charges-for-suspect-in-hailey-buzbee-case.