A 22-year-old Long Beach man was arrested earlier this week after police say he distributed explicit photographs of an underage Barstow student.

The arrest was first reported by the Victor Valley News Group.

Malcolm McClendon was taken into custody Monday at his Long Beach home in the 1000 block of 17th Street on suspicion of contacting a minor for sexual purposes, according to the Barstow Police Department.

On the night of Feb. 2, a Barstow Police Department school resource officer received a report of a person distributing explicit photographs of a student through a social media site, authorities said.

Detective Gemma Day took over the investigation and soon obtained numerous electronic search warrants that helped authorities identify McClendon as the person responsible for sharing the photos, police said. Day’s investigation further revealed that McClendon had asked at least two children for explicit photos, according to the Barstow Police Department.

Police eventually obtained a warrant for McClendon’s arrest, and on May 1, detectives served a search warrant at his Long Beach residence.

There, according to the Barstow Police Department, detectives found more evidence that McClendon had been distributing child pornography.

McClendon was booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department West Valley Detention Center and released the following day after making bail, inmate records show.

Anyone with further information regarding this incident can contact detectives at 760-255-5132. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may also report criminal activity by calling the We-Tip hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.

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