Prosecutors charge man accused of exchanging sexual photos with Lakewood boy, 16

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a man accused of exchanging sexually explicit photos and messages with a teenage Lakewood boy.

Carl Tennison, 43, is set to be arraigned Jan. 20 on seven counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He is not in custody.

The mother of a 16-year-old Lakewood boy called police in January 2015 after she found the inappropriate conversations between her son and Tennison, prosecutors said.

The teen told detectives the two had exchanged naked photos and chatted about their sexual fantasies, according to charging papers.

Police interviewed Tennison, who allegedly admitted to texting sexual photos to the teen, but he was not arrested.

A month later, one of Tennison’s roommates notified police that the man was bragging about having a secret computer the police didn’t find during a search of his home.

Detectives returned that day with a search warrant and found a laptop hidden between the mattress and box spring of Tennison’s bed.

He had nearly 1,000 images or videos of child pornography, including some kept in his briefcase, according to the court documents.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Prosecutors charge man accused of exchanging sexual photos with Lakewood boy, 16."