[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A contestant from Katie Thurston‘s season of The Bachelorette has been arrested on child pornography charges.
Joshua Tylerbest, who appeared on Katie’s Season 17 run on the hit reality show, was arrested by police in Miami, Florida last month. According to TMZ, which first reported news of Tylerbest’s arrest early Thursday morning, he was first taken into custody weeks ago in the South Beach city.
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The outlet cites legal documents relating to Joshua’s arrest which claim the IT consultant was busted back in late February. Per the docs, a Google account “registered to” him was flagged for “uploading approximately 50 images/videos showing child sexual abuse.”
Based on the IT flagging, police in Miami got a search warrant for Tylerbest’s computer. There, they allegedly came across evidence of the former Bachelorette star “interacting with child pornography images.” Interacting?? Ew…
Cops also raided Tylerbest’s home and seized other items, including his iPhone. On that device, they allegedly found more than a dozen files that also “fit the bill for child porn.” The arrest affidavit says those clips include videos of children under ten years old “involved in graphic sex acts with adults.”
WTF?!
Following his arrest, Josh has been charged with 15 counts — all felonies — of possession of materials of a sexual performance by a child. He pleaded not guilty, and his next scheduled court date is set for June.
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Tylerbest wasn’t a one-and-done first-night elimination during Katie’s run on the show, which aired back in 2021. He made it through four weeks of the season before being eliminated in the fifth. His time on the series wasn’t particularly spicy, either. But now… He may be one of the most controversial contestants of all time.
It’s unclear how he’s reacting to the allegations. A check of Tylerbest’s social media presence on Thursday appeared to show he has deleted his Instagram account. As for Katie, she’s been active on IG so far on Thursday but hasn’t commented.
What a sad and sick update on this former Bachelorette star. Ugh…
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Bachelor Nation/YouTube/Miami-Dade County Jail]
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