Three Arrested In Online Crimes Targeting Children

NOBLESVILLE -- Three men were arrested in the past week in three separate child sex-related investigations.

The first arrest came June 18, after Thomas Lee Nickels, 40, of Indianapolis, showed up to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old girl he had been communicating with in an online chat room, police said. Instead, he had been communicating with an officer posing as a young girl. He was arrested by members of Hamilton County's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and charged with three counts of child solicitation.

It was later determined that Nickels was a registered sex offender, who was convicted of child molestation in Marion County in 2003.

On June 19, ICAC Task Force members arrested Michael E. Nyberg, 23, of Noblesville, after child pornography was found during a police search of his home, officers said. The search came after a joint investigation between the ICAC and Noblesville police. Nyberg faces seven counts of child exploitation.

The third arrest was June 24, when Kevin Livengood, 30, of Indianapolis, arrived to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old he'd met online, police said. Like Nickels, he had actually been chatting with an undercover officer. He faces two counts of child solicitation.

Police said the recent activity should serve as a reminder for all parents to monitor their children's access to the Web.

"You feel safe in your home; the doors are locked, the lights are on, but when the computer's on, there can be a pedophile, there can be a predator, that's coming into your home that has access to your child," Sgt. Gerry Hepp of the Fishers Police Department told 6News' Jennifer Carmack.

All three men were being held Wednesday in the Hamilton County Jail.