Lyons to remain incarcerated for now

By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times

More information about the charges against an Olive Hill man – accused of using the internet app Snapchat to solicit a 13-year-old girl he met at a Vacation Bible School (VBS) – came out during his bond hearing last Thursday. This included additional information on the content of some of the text messages exchanged between the two, and details of how the accused used his own child to approach the minor and obtain her telephone number during vacation bible school.

Michael Lyons, age 32 – who was indicted last year in Greenup County on 14 counts of first degree criminal abuse of a minor under the age of 12, along with three other defendants, for his role in the alleged abuse of children in the special education program at McKell Elementary School – was free on bond in that case when he reportedly approached the victim in the Carter County case. According to testimony from Detective Eddie Littleton, with the Carter County Sheriff’s Department, the victim testified that Lyons approached her and asked if she could take a photo of him with his daughter and text it to him. Once they had connected via telephone, they moved their conversation to the Snapchat app. It was in that app that he allegedly asked the victim to send him nude photos, as well as sending her photos of male genitalia that he claimed he found online. However, retrieving all of that information has proven difficult, Littleton testified, because of the nature of the app. Conversations on Snapchat are not archived in the same way as traditional text or other personal messaging applications. By default, all messages sent through the app are deleted within 24 hours of being read, though users may adjust their settings to delete read messages immediately, or hold them for seven days before deleting; unless they are otherwise archived by the user. Because of this there are gaps in the conversation they’ve been able to retrieve from the victim’s device, Littleton testified. But they are working on retrieving them.

Littleton also recounted testimony that he had presented during Lyons initial arraignment on the Carter County charges, including reading the contents of a text conversation between Lyons and the victim’s father where Lyons begged the father not to contact police or press charges, stating that he couldn’t lose his family or his “church family,” and claiming that he didn’t know how old the victim was.

Littleton noted that although Lyons and the victim’s family weren’t close friends, they were familiar with each other through church, and that Lyons worked with youth in the church during VBS, though he couldn’t testify to any official youth leadership position.

Lyons’ attorney, however, claimed that Lyons wasn’t aware of the victim’s age, and introduced text messages that seemed to indicate the victim had misrepresented her age to Lyons. But the Commonwealth countered that VBS is for minor children only, and argued that even if Lyons wasn’t aware of her exact age, he was aware of which age group she was involved with during VBS.

There was also discussion of the conditions of Lyons’ bond in the Greenup case. Judge Rebecca Phillips noted that the terms of his bond in the Greenup case appeared to have been modified. She stated that it initially appeared as though he had been ordered to have no contact with children, and that it appeared it was modified to no unsupervised contact with children.

While Lyons’ attorney argued that he had not violated the terms of his bond in that Greenup case, Phillips said she needed to talk with the judge in that case to determine if there had been a violation of terms, and whether the terms of bond at the time of the incident – which occurred in June – were to have no contact with minor children, or no unsupervised contact.

And though the defense continued to claim the minor had misrepresented her age, pointing to the text where she allegedly apologized for doing so, attorney for the Commonwealth Barry Bradley said that wasn’t enough to justify releasing Lyons.

“She might have lied (about her age),” Bradley said during his final statements to the judge. “But this is a grown man who went to Vacation Bible School to (pick up) a girl.”
“This wasn’t someone he met in a college library, who lied about her age,” Bradley noted. “And, in his own words, you heard him apologize to (the victim’s father).”

Bradley noted that even in that apology, Lyons’ concern was on himself, and the impact the incident would have on him and his relationship with the church and his family.

“That’s what he was worried about,” Bradley said. “Not what he did to the victim.”

Bradley reiterated the nature of the Greenup County crimes, noting “this isn’t the first time” Lyons had been accused of abusing or exploiting children, and that he was aware he wasn’t supposed to have contact with minors as a condition of his bond in that case.

Despite this knowledge, Bradley said, “he went to a VBS and picked up a girl… at some point we have to use our common sense.”

Phillips said she was delaying any decisions on bond in this case until she had time to review family court proceedings and content from the Greenup case.

At press time Lyons was still incarcerated at the Carter County Detention Center on charges of procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means, and distribution of obscene matter to a minor. According to notes on his arrest record there is a hold on Lyons from the Greenup County Circuit Court, with the reason listed as “no bond per Judge McCloud.”  

Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com