MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa — The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office says a Des Moines man charged for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a porta-potty during an Des Moines event also allegedly placed a camera in a porta-potty during an event in State Center.

On September 23, MCSO deputies were called to Valley Golf Course, located outside State Center, on a report of a concealed camera in a portable toilet. Authorities say that at that time, the West Marshall Community School District was hosting a cross-country meet on the golf course that male and female, middle and high school, students across several school district were participating in.

The MCSO says the State Center Police Department was supervising the event when a group of participants alerted authorities of what they believed to be a concealed camera. The device was removed and turned over to law enforcement.

The MCSO says school officials were notified immediately. Authorities conducted interviews with potential witnesses and secured potential surveillance video that police believed could have captured evidence of the person involved.

With the high volume of participants, attendees, and vehicles arrived and leaving the event; investigators immediately began sorting through evidence and developing a partial image of the person and vehicle of interest.

The information was shared through the Iowa Law Enforcement Intelligence Network Fusion Center for similar crime reports or potential identification of the person or vehicle. The camera and digital evidence was submitted to the Iowa DCI Ciber Crime Unit for examination.

The MCSO says the Des Moines Police Department notified them October 6 that they had been investigating a similar incident that detectives believed was committed by the same person. The DMPD says on October 4 police were notified that a camera had been found in a porta-potty at Water Works Park, which was the location of the Harvest & Handmade Fair at that time.

On Tuesday, the DMPD and MCSO received results from digital evidence that identified a suspect in both agencies investigations. On Wednesday, authorities conducted a search warrant of 32-year-old Tyler Pavlick’s apartment in Des Moines. Pavlick was arrested without incident and is being held at the Polk County Jail on seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of invasion of privacy.

Both the MCSO and the DMPD are continuing to investigate these incidents and say additional criminal charges are anticipated as more victims are identified. Authorities say more details will be provided as they become available for release.

Anyone who used the portable toilet near the starting line while attending the West Marshall District Cross Country Meet on September 23, 2025, between 3:30-4:40 p.m. located at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course please contact the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office by using the online crime tip link: Submit a Crime Tip to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

Police are asking anyone who attended the Harvest & Handmade Fair on October 4 and used one of the portable toilets to reach out to them by emailing fcs@dmgov.org. A detective will make contact to follow up.