Mtn. Grove man faces sexual abuse, child porn charges for Ozark County incidents

Jay D. Clark, of Mountain Grove, appeared in Ozark County court July 5 for a plea hearing or trial setting in a case in which he’s charged with sexual abuse, possession of child pornography and furnishing pornographic material to a minor. He is scheduled to return to court for the hearing at 9 a.m. Aug. 9. 

According to the probable cause statement in the case prepared by OCSD Deputy Seth Miller, on Oct. 26, 2022, the officer received a report from a set of parents of a 15-year-old girl who thought she was possibly sneaking out of her residence at night and using alcohol and other prohibited items outside the household with an 18-year-old. The parents told Miller they’d like to see the contents of her phone and have the passcode to the phone. 

Miller reportedly talked to the girl, explaining the consequences of underage drinking and sneaking out of her house, and he indicated that he needed the passcode to the phone for her parents. 

“Once the phone was opened, the family asked if I could see anything illegal, such as drug activity or alcohol use on the photo app. I opened the photo section of the phone and found [the girl] using a smoking device commonly used in the smoking of marijuana,” Miller’s report said. 

In addition to the photos of potential marijuana use, Miller also found nude photos of a man along with messages from Clark, an 18-year-old male. He closed the phone and put it into evidence and made a mandatory report to the child abuse and neglect hotline and opened an investigation. 

A forensic exam and data retrieval of the phone was conducted, and images of Clark and the girl in a bed were found, along with clothed images of Clark, nude photos of the girl and the nude photos of a man not showing a his face; however, the photos had the same background as the other photos of Clark. 

In an interview with the Child Advocacy Center, the girl said she’d spent the night with who she thought was a 17-year-old man named Jay Dryer in Mountain Grove. She said the male’s mother’s name was Crystal. The Mountain Grove Police Department confirmed that Clark’s mother’s name is Crystal, and she lives in Mountain Grove, meaning Clark may have given a different age and name to the girl.