Royalty
A Seymour man is facing a sex crime charge after police say he and a minor conducted a sexual act in a Franklin hotel room.
William Tyler Royalty, 21, was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 2 on July 28. A warrant for his arrest was served on Wednesday.
Franklin police began investigating Royalty in May after they were notified by the Department of Child Services about a case that had been transferred from Shelby County. Shelbyville police were investigating a shoplifting case and during that investigation, they learned of a 21-year-old male, later identified as Royalty, who had sexual contact with a 14-year-old at a hotel on the 2000 block of Holiday Lane in Franklin sometime in April to early May, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Franklin detectives were then sent documents from Shelbyville police’s shoplifting investigation. The documents showed that Royalty was arrested for theft following a series of shoplifting incidents and that he was arrested with two juveniles. One of the juveniles told Shelbyville officers that Royalty was sexually involved with the teen, who was one of their friends, according to the affidavit.
The juvenile witness had been at the Frankin hotel with the teen, Royalty and three other witnesses when she witnessed the teen and Royalty conduct a sexual act. The witness had taken a video of the act, and showed it to Shelbyville police, the affidavit says.
Shelbyville police spoke with the teen and their parents, and the teen denied the allegations. The teen’s parents then gave police permission to search their phone, and later Royalty permitted officers to search his phone. They also received access to the witness’ phone, the affidavit says.
Franklin detectives then spoke with the teen, and they said Royalty was their best friend and that they knew he was 21 years old. The teen had met Royalty through a relative and said the duo had wanted to date when the teen turned 18. This conversation had taken place on the teen’s 14th birthday, according to the affidavit.
The teen confirmed that they had conducted a sexual act with Royalty and that the witness had recorded a video of it. The teen told detectives that Royalty had not asked them to do this, however, he did not stop them from doing so once it took place. They also said that Royalty had met their parents, and both the teen and Royalty told them that he was 17, the affidavit says.
Police then reviewed the video of the incident and spoke with the witness who recorded it and other witnesses. They confirmed that the incident happened and that the teen and Royalty were dating, the affidavit says.
Detectives then spoke with Royalty in Seymour, who denied dating the teen and conducting a sexual act with them. Later that day, Royalty called detectives and told them that he had committed a sexual act with the teen and said he knew it was illegal. He also said that nude photographs of the teen had been sent to him, but that he deleted them quickly after they were sent, the affidavit says.
Police had also found two nude videos on the phone, the affidavit says.
A warrant for Royalty’s arrest was issued on Aug. 1, and he was booked into the Johnson County jail on Wednesday. His bond was set at $1,500, as of Thursday morning.
