By Pat Culverhouse

Minden PD detectives have quickly closed a case of juvenile-related sex crimes with the Friday morning arrest of a  48-year-old Minden man.

Chief of Police Jared McIver said Bryan Garner, a resident of the 1300 block of Hinton Park, is facing charges of computer aided solicitation of a minor and molestation of a juvenile. Garner is being held under a total bond of $300,000.

Garner reportedly was arrested at his residence around 5:15 a.m. Friday as he was leaving for work.

Lt. Jason Smith, head of the MPD’s Criminal Investigation Division, said Det. Matthew Hicks began working on the case just over a week ago and gathered critical information from text messages sent to the young victim. Hicks then arranged Gingerbread House interviews for the victim which led to more evidence.

“There were some very sickening, questionable things contained in those text messages,” Smith said. “And the Gingerbread House interviews revealed specifics, including fetishes.”

Smith said following Garner’s arrest, a search warrant was executed on the residence where a number of electronic devices were seized. Those devices will be forwarded for forensic examination, he said.

“We’re still investigating and depending on what is found on those electronic devices, there could be additional charges,” Smith said.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.