PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Camden man has been arrested after authorities said he sent sexually explicit messages to a young girl and tried to obtain inappropriate photos of her. According to police, a K-9 officer was instrumental in apprehending the suspect.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said 36-year-old Elmer Lao was messaging a 7-year-old girl on TikTok, sending her nude videos of himself and requesting nude photos of her in return. Officials said Lao knew the girl’s age.
Camden County Prosecutor Grace MacAulay told our partners at NBC10 the girl’s mother reported the exchange.
“She did everything right,” she said. “She was present, she was aware, and as soon as she saw danger on her child’s phone, she immediately talked to her daughter and reported it to law enforcement.”
The investigation into Lao began last Monday, and on July 22, police searched his home. Officials pointed to K-9 Rookie, who’s trained to sniff out electronics, as the officer that detected the phone Lao allegedly used to send the messages. Speaking with NBC10, Sgt. John Cochran praised the work of his colleague:
“Rookie’s found multiple mobile devices in multiple investigations that we’ve had, and this is a great tool for us,” he said.
“We’ve had instances where people have discarded mobile devices behind washers, dryers, dishwashers, things like that. We’ve had very good success with Rookie.”
Lao was remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility, awaiting a detention hearing. He has been charged with attempting to manufacture child sex abuse material and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say K-9 officer Rookie located the suspect’s phone during a search
Police say K-9 officer Rookie located the suspect’s phone during a search
