COTTONWOOD — Joshua Louis Hillyard, 28, was arrested for sending pictures of his privates to a Cottonwood student he was “mentoring.”
Hillyard was arrested on a felony charge of with furnishing harmful materials to a minor, when he met with his probation officer on Thursday afternoon. He was booked into the Yavapai County Detention Center for one count of furnishing harmful materials to a minor.
“The 16-year-old victim reported to her school safety officer that she received unsolicited and inappropriate pictures and messages from Hillyard who is known to her,” said a Cottonwood Police statement. “They met through an outreach program where he was a mentor.”
Hillyard was positively identified as the sender of the pictures because of a tattoo.
Some of the photos Hillyard sent through social media included a picture of his “penis which could be identified because he has ‘Fun Size’ tattooed on it,” the police statement said.
“During the interview Hillyard told investigators he knew her age but thought the age of consent in Arizona is 16 because that is the law in Montana.”
Hillyard is on probation in Montana and Wyoming for burglary, fraud and sale of dangerous drugs. The state of Arizona has been supervising the requirements of his terms of his probation.
Youth mentor programs normally conduct background checks. It was not immediately known how Hillyard was able to obtain a position as a mentor.