On June 16, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence located in the City of Mendota Heights, County of Dakota, State of Minnesota. Law enforcement received a CyberTip from the BCA that the IP address associated with the residence was accessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The suspect was identified as Alex John Vanderheyden [DOB REDACTED] (hereinafter Defendant). The video/image which was the basis for the CyberTip occurred on December 24, 2024. The video shows a prepubescent female performing oral sex on an erect male penis.

Several electronic devices were seized from the residence which were later forensically searched. Law enforcement located 54 images and 8 videos of suspected child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) on Defendant’s cellphone. During a Miranda interview, Defendant admitted that law enforcement would locate CSAM on his cell phone. Defendant also admitted that he uploaded and then sent the CSAM video via the Kik App on December 24, 2024. After the search was conducted, law enforcement received a second CyberTip from the BCA which related back to the same IP address and Kik account as the first CyberTip.

On April 1, 2025, eight CSAM images were shared by Defendant’s Kik account.