Lincoln, Iowa man charged in Linn County with grooming, sex exploitation

A Lincoln, Iowa man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he attempted to groom someone who he believed was 15 years old to have sex with him.

Bryan Pittman, 31, is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, grooming, and enticing a minor under 16.

According to a criminal complaint, he used his wife’s photos to create a fake profile named Josie on the social media platform Skout. Josie is not Pittman’s wife’s name. He used that profile to contact a spoof profile that Cedar Rapids Police investigators had created of a female subject who was listed as 18 years old on her account but who told Pittman, who was posing as Josie, that she was actually 15.

Pittman communicated with the spoof profile as Josie during August and September, discussing sexual topics, and eventually asked the spoof 15-year-old to meet up with Josie’s husband — himself — for sex. He then sent his own phone number to the spoof profile. Investigators contacted Pittman at the number, and Pittman, as himself, again asked to meet up with the 15-year-old for sex.

Police performed a search warrant at Pittman’s residence in Lincoln on Sept. 5 and confiscated two phones that he owned. A search of the phones showed that he had been using one to communicate with the spoof account as Josie, and the other he’d been using to communicate as himself, the criminal complaint states.

A warrant for Pittman’s arrest was issued on Oct. 28, and he was booked into the Linn County Jail on Tuesday. He had his first appearance in court Tuesday and is being held on a $50,000 bond.

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