Brighton man arrested on two counts of child exploitation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Brighton man has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office.

Lloyd Craig, 49, has been charged after an incident on March 16, 2023 where deputies were sent to a home on the 2000 block of Old Memphis Road in response to a sexual assault complaint.

The Sheriff’s Office said that a woman told them her child and another juvenile relative were victims of sexual assault. Due to the nature of this case, deputies called the Department of Child Services to investigate.

Detectives and deputies learned that the children were at a home on the 5300 block of Munford Gilt Edge Road, where Craig was staying at the time. The Sheriff’s Office said that in the early morning hours of March 16, Craig gave alcohol and unknown pills to the children.

The Sheriff’s Office said that Craig inappropriately touched the children and attempted to have them perform sexual acts on each other, which they refused. When one of them refused, deputies said he bound of their wrists and held them down.

Lloyd Craig admitted to his role in the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Craig has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, false imprisonment, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“Here you have a 49 year old man preying on two juveniles and feeding them alcohol and pills in the process. He is an adult who should be protecting them from such activities yet he is knowingly furnishing them these things in what appears to be a planned attempt to exploit them sexually, Sheriff Shannon Beasley said. “Hopefully Lloyd Craig will have plenty of time to sit and think about his actions”.

Craig is being held on a $40,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on March 27, 2023.