Photos of kids on phone lead to man’s arrest

A 67-year-old southeast Idaho man was arrested in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday after police found a large number of photographs of unidentified children on his personal cell phone.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Hi Tech Crimes Task Force and detectives from the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children arrested Garth Mendenhall Clark on a charge of misdemeanor child annoyance. Detectives said he was visiting family in the Sacramento area. Authorities did not say where Clark lived in southeast Idaho.

Sgt. Lisa Bowman said the department received a complaint of a man inside a seasonal Halloween store following small children and taking photographs of a young girl’s “private area” with his cell phone Monday.

She said detectives found evidence of a large number of photos of young children on the phone. It was found in a motor home parked near the store.

Detectives are attempting to identify the children depicted in the images and other possible victims.

Clark was released on bail Thursday.

Anyone concerned their child was unknowingly photographed by Clark is asked to contact detectives at (916) 874-3002.