DAVIDSON COUNTY MAN CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COUNTS OF SOLICITATION, EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR FOLLOWING UNDERCOVER TBI OPERATION

TBI special agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force posed as pre-teen and teenage girls in an undercover internet chat operation, resulting in the arrest of an Antioch man, for sending graphic photos and text messages.

Since July, ICAC special agents conducted an undercover chat operation via social media messenger applications. Undercover agents took on the personas of 12- and 13-year-old females, and became engaged in chats with an individual later identified by agents as Scott Quarles. The chats were graphic and sexual in nature, and the investigation revealed that Quarles sent instructions on how to download an application where he could track their ovulation cycle in an effort to impregnate them. He also sent multiple nude photos and videos of himself.

On August 6th, TBI ICAC agents, joined by Williamson County Sheriff's Office ICAC detectives and Secret Service agents, arrested Scott Armistead Quarles (DOB 07/05/1994). He is charged with one count of Solicitation of a Minor - Aggravated Statutory Rape, one count of Solicitation of a Minor - Rape of a Child, and 10 counts of Solicitation/ Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means. Officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department transported Quarles to the Davidson County Jail, where he was booked on a $310,000 bond.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone who may have been contacted by Quarles, or someone using the name scofett on the KIK app or Paul Herring (pherring37) on Snapchat, are encouraged to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.