Federal Child Porn Charges for Youth Pastor

By Richard Paloma
Oakdale Leader
March 21, 2014

http://www.oakdaleleader.com/section/44/article/12530/

The Oakdale Bethel Assembly of God youth pastor arrested for possession of child pornography last month was taken into custody by federal authorities on suspicion of receiving or distributing images of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct after a Stanislaus Superior Court hearing on Wednesday, March 19.

Tyler Bliss, 27, of Oakdale, was in court to appear on a single felony count of possession of child pornography resulting from a Ceres Police Department arrest on Feb. 17 where investigators served search warrants at his Hudson Avenue home and the church on East G Street.

During the hearing, the district attorney’s office announced it would not be pursuing charges at which point Bliss was advised that there was a federal warrant for his arrest. Two US Marshals then took Bliss into custody and escorted him out of the courtroom.

Federal mandatory sentencing laws call for a five-year minimum for receipt of child pornography. Bliss could receive up to 20 years in prison for the offenses charged.

Bliss was brought to the attention of the FBI via an anonymous tip. The FBI was able to track down Bliss through a Gmail address associated with a graphic image, according to a statement by Special Agent Mark Lucas.

Using the IP address, investigators linked Bliss to computers at the Bethel Assembly of God on East G Street, where they later learned Bliss was a youth minister, and at his Hudson Avenue home. Bliss reportedly downloaded over 286 various images of children in explicit sexual acts.

After his arrest, Bliss confessed to downloading images from a website where he paid a $12.95 monthly subscription. He told investigators he was sexually attracted to girls ages 12 to 14 and viewed pornographic images of children as young as 4 years old.

Bliss allegedly also had a relationship with an underage female he met though his job as a youth pastor and had explicit images of her sent via cellphone on the computers.

Bliss has a June 2 pretrial hearing in federal court in Sacramento and remains in custody pending a March 27 bail hearing.

Bliss served in the church’s youth ministry since 2009 until the time of his arrest. He oversaw the organization’s junior high, high school, and college ministries while pursuing his license to preach with the Assemblies of God.

The main pastor for the Oakdale Bethel Assembly of God is Bliss’ father, Dave Bliss who has served in Oakdale since 2007.