The Beadle County Democrats met Monday evening with guest speaker Det. Sgt. Tahj Lark of the Huron Police Department. Lark has been on the force for just over seven years and has been a detective for three and a half years.

His focus is cybercrimes, especially pertaining to crimes against children including child pornography.

He informed the assembly that child pornography is very prevalent in Huron. Lark said with a search warrant, he can download everything from a computer or cell phone.

“I have done downloads from 35 cell phones so far this year,” Lark said. “I can get everything off of a cell phone with a search warrant or with consent.”

He has done downloads for the Division of Criminal Investigation and other counties as well. He also handles narcotics, sexual assault, and domestic violence cases.

Lark explained that there has been an increase in all cases during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Huron Police Department now has four detectives, up from two, and each of them is currently handling five domestic violence cases.

“Domestic calls are the most dangerous for officers to respond to,” explained Lark. “And every domestic violence call results in an arrest. That is state law.”

He went on to say that offenders in domestic assault cases are mostly male, but can be female, too.

Sunday nights and holidays are the most violent times. Domestic violence is very prevalent in Huron and calls come in from all over the city.

Lark also answered questions about fraud and scam schemes in the area. He said there is a lot of it in Huron and people need to be vigilant. Most contact is made by telephone, but scams can arrive in your mailbox, too.

A red flag that you are being scammed is if the person asks for money. Some schemes involve a story about a grandchild stranded and in need of money to get home. Don’t believe it. That is a classic scam.

“The best way to protect yourself from phone fraud is to hang up,” Lark said. “If you get a call from someone you don’t know, don’t answer.”

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, contact the police department or the attorney generals office.