Two arrested after child pornography investigations in Northern California county

Detectives arrested two men in investigations involving child pornography in Nevada County, according to authorities.

Separate cyber tips were received earlier this year by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office from the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children regarding suspected online child pornography. The arrests were made Wednesday.

The first suspect was identified as 39-year-old Tristan Jones of Yuba City. The Sheriff’s Office said Jones was living in Nevada County at the time of the tip.

After executing multiple search warrants, the Sheriff’s Office said, detectives learned Jones was distributing child pornography online and sending money to individuals in another country to produce new child pornography. Child pornography was also found on his electronic devices, authorities said.

Jones was booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on felony charges.

The second suspect was identified as 33-year-old Neil Lawrence of Grass Valley. Detectives said they learned child pornography was uploaded to an online account that belonged to Lawrence.

Lawrence has a prior conviction involving possession of child pornography stemming from a 2020 cyber tip and is required to register as a sex offender with the Sheriff’s Office, authorities said. It was discovered during the investigation that Lawrence was not in compliance with that requirement.

Lawrence also was booked into the correctional facility on felony charges.