Township child caught in sexual exploitation case

Based on a Bloomfield Township police department investigation from over the summer, a 48-year-old male resident of Ellis, Kansas was arraigned on Friday, September 18, on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated internet trading in child pornography in Ellis County, Kansas, and given a $1 million cash bond. Back in June, Bloomfield Township police had responded to a call from a mother who reported she had discovered an inappropriate relationship between her eight-year-old daughter and an unknown male suspect her daughter had called John. Her daughter had befriended the man through the online game Roblox. In exchange for online currency in the game, John had persuaded the caller’s daughter to send him videos of herself. The mother brought the iPad in to police, who found over 20 videos of the daughter in various states of undress. After a forensic audit of the iPad and several search warrants by the department, John was identified as Clinton McElroy, a registered sex offender in Kansas. Bloomfield Township policed contacted the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department and requested their assistance in the investigation. Investigators with Ellis County told them McElroy had been arrested in 2017 for a similar offense. On Thursday, September 17, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, along with the assistance of the Ellis Police Department, executed a residential search warrant on McElroy’s house. Based on Bloomfield Township’s investigation, McElroy was arrested on new charges in Ellis County due to the results of their search warrant. He was then booked into Ellis County Jail before his arraignment. According to Bloomfield Township police, this is an ongoing investigation and McElroy is awaiting his next court date.