News and Investigations

News & Investigations

News Releases and Public Information

Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.

PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Meghan Petty. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.

The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.

Jul 24, 2019

Auburndale man arrested for sexually abusing and sending images of a child

Media Contact: Scott Wilder, Director

On Tuesday, July 23, Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives were contacted by the Kenton County Police Department in Kentucky regarding a man who reported to them receiving an image of child porn through a virtual/role play online game, "Second Life." The image depicted a nude prepubescent child, appearing to be between 3 and 5 years-old, performing an exploitative sex act on an adult nude male. The man who reported receiving the unsolicited and unwanted photo provided the gaming chat logs to law enforcement wherein the suspect claimed the picture was of himself and a 4-year-old child he had access to.

Kentucky PCSO detectives were able to determine the suspect's gaming account information and ultimately discovered the Auburndale address of 26-year-old Dylan Driggers, and then notified the Polk County Sheriff's Office. PCSO detectives made contact with Driggers and interviewed him about the explicit photo. During the interview, Driggers admitted to using the role playing/gaming application, "Second Life" and having inappropriate conversations with the man who reported the photo to Kentucky law enforcement. Driggers further confessed to standing nude, in front of the victim in the photo and then sexually abusing the victim. Driggers admitted to using his laptop computer to capture the sexually explicit act and then send the photo to an unknown man (the man in Kentucky). Detectives seized Driggers' laptop computer, cell phone, and a neck-style pillow found in the residence that matched a pillow seen in the sexually explicit photo.

Detectives arrested Driggers charging him with:

1) Use of a child in a sexual performance (F2)

2) Promotion of child pornography (F2)

3) Capital sexual battery (Capital Felony)

"We thank the Kenton County Police Department and the man who reported receiving this disgusting photograph for taking swift action that led to this arrest. Our detectives did a great job quickly following up discovering the identity of this child molester and his victim. We are further investigating to see if there are any more victims. We will do everything in our power to hold Dylan Driggers accountable for his repulsive, exploitative, and illegal acts. We are making sure that the child and the child's family receive appropriate services." -Grady Judd, Sheriff