Press Releases
01/22/2024
Jury Finds Branford Man Guilty of Charges of Enticing a Minor, Risk of Injury to a Minor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(New Haven, CT) - John P. Doyle Jr., State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven, announced that a jury in New Haven Superior Court today found Tyler Purskey, age 34, of Branford, guilty of the crimes of Enticing a Minor, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-90a, and two counts of Risk of Injury to a Minor, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21. The Honorable Elpedio Vitale presided over the jury trial.
According to evidence introduced at trial, the defendant sent over 9,000 text messages, including hundreds of sexually explicit messages to a 12-year-old child between September 3, 2019 and November 1, 2019. The evidence showed that the defendant did this in an attempt to entice the minor into sexual activity. At the time, the defendant was a tennis instructor for the minor child.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 4, 2024 in New Haven Superior Court.
The case was investigated by the Guilford Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah E. Jones and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney David J. Strollo, with assistance from Inspectors Michael Mastropetre and Kevin Grenier. The State’s Attorney would like to thank the FBI and Emanuel Hatzikostas, FBI Master Digital Forensic Examiner, for his extensive work in this investigation.