BURTON, Mich. – Four people have been arrested after an operation centered around giving children THC gummies and exploiting them for child pornography was uncovered at two homes in Genesee County.
Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson said the investigation began with Preston Allen Foster Creed-Boehm, 36, of Grand Blanc Township.
In the winter of 2022, Homeland Security officials began working with Genesee County deputies after child pornography was sent to Creed-Boehm’s home on Chatham Lane in Grand Blanc Township. The house is in the area of Hill and Belsay roads.
Officials said their investigation uncovered a scheme that began in 2018 and continued into this year. Creed-Boehm was arrested and identified as the orchestrator.
“He was using that pornography to trade back and forth to other pedophiles around the world,” Swanson said.
The arrest of Creed-Boehm led authorities to a second home, in the area of Richfield and North Genesee roads in Burton. That home was searched on Dec. 20, 2022.
During the search of the second home, three Burton residents were arrested: Crystal Ann Benton, 42; Nicholas Alan Dunn, 41; and Joshua Buren Hippensteel, 45.
Four children -- ages 14, 10, 10 and 5 -- were being sexually abused inside the home, police said.
The three adults would groom, drug, and exploit the children in order to monetize their sexual acts, Swanson said. They fed THC-laced gummies to the children so they couldn’t fight back against the abuse.
“They would feed these gummies to the 10-year-olds,” Swanson said. “They would get them so drugged up that they would take advantage of them. They would be unable to defend themselves even if they wanted to.”
Benton and Dunn were engaged, and Hippensteel lived in their basement. Hippensteel had a relationship with Creed-Boehm, according to authorities.
“They would use this house in Burton, which we believe was the epicenter of all the manufacturing, and the distribution was the Grand Blanc address,” Swanson said.
The children were often seen in a bed and a bathroom in the Burton house. The three adults who lived there would takes pictures and videos of the children and send them to the house in Grand Blanc, where Creed-Boehm acted as the distributor, officials said.
Charges
Creed-Boehm has already been charged federally
Benton is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of child sexually abusive activity, and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.
She is being held at the Genesee County Jail on a $300,000 cash bond.
Dunn is charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of child sexually abusive activity, and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.
He is being held at the Genesee County Jail without bond.
Hippensteel is charged with aggravated child sexually abusive activity and accosting a minor for immoral purposes.
He is also being held at the Genesee County Jail without bond.
Genesee County officials believe more children might have been victimized in this scheme. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
