Man arraigned on exploitation charges

Arizona Daily Wildcat Photo Courtesy of Tucson Police Department Tyrone Henry

Tyrone V. Henry, 26, of the 400 block of West Kelso Street, was arrested Sept. 16 after Tucson police confiscated his personal computer in August and found 292 images of alleged child pornography on his hard drive and disks, according to court records.

Pima County Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Mitchell entered a plea of innocent for Henry and set a hearing for Nov. 13 at 9 a.m.

Henry left immediately after his arraignment and could not be questioned. His mother and his attorney, Richard Lougee, refused to comment.

Police began investigating Henry earlier this year after female University of Arizona students began reporting that a man had asked them to take part in a facial cream study.

"They all have the same complaint - that the moisturizer tastes like semen," detective Kathy Kelley of the Tucson Police Department's adult sexual assault detail said in April.

Six students filed complaints with police, saying the study was conducted at the man's residence, where he had the participants lie down on his couch while the substance was applied to their faces, Kelley said.

Kelley said police were unable to locate any physical evidence at the man's residence or find a sample of the cream, adding that it is a unique case in which there may not be any illegal activity.

The investigation led police to obtain a search warrant for Henry's computer.

Two female UA students who didn't file complaints said they responded to a flier in September 1997 that they saw in the laundry room of their university area apartment complex. The flier said anyone who came to test a new facial cream would be given $50.

The students, one a psychology junior, the other a undeclared junior, who asked that their names not be published, recalled being asked some strange questions before going to the appointment at Henry's Kelso Street address.

"He asked us our height, weight, hair color, if we exercised, how much we perspired and our age," the psychology major said.

The two students took three male friends to the appointment, not realizing it would be a problem.

"He told us, whoever didn't have an appointment couldn't go in," the psychology student said. The three men gave the women a cellular phone, told them to call when they were done and left.

"The house was small and dirty," the psychology student said. "It wasn't professional. The Christmas decorations were still up."

Once the women were inside the house, the man told them one had to wait in the other room while the other tested the cream.

"He asked me to lie down on the couch," she said. She refused the request and sat in a chair instead.

The two women said the containers with the cream looked like soda bottle caps covered with tin foil. "He could have been a little more professional. He could have had nicer stuff," the undeclared junior said.

The two students said the man's claim to credibility was very convincing. He told the women he had partners in California who were helping him with the study. He also showed them pictures of other women who had taken part in the study.

The man placed the cream on the women's cheeks and chins, and they had to leave it on for three minutes.

"The stuff smelled old. It dripped down my nose and he told me not to get any in my mouth," the undeclared junior said.

"It had a pungent, bitter smell," the psychology major said.

After applying the cream, the man then took pictures of them, both women said.

The man gave one woman a check for $25 and the other a $15 check. The man then told them they needed to come back again and continue with the study in order to get the $50. The students said no, and according to the psychology junior, "He was pissed about it."

The students didn't report the incident to police, but said they are still disturbed by what he did.

"It wierded me out," said the psychology major.

"I felt yucky about it," the other woman said.

Liz Dailey can be reached via e-mail at Liz.Dailey@wildcat.arizona.edu.