Honk News (Detroit, MI) – A home inspector seen on surveillance footage with a ‘Tickle Me Elmo’ doll is facing serious consequences and is not amused by the outcome.
Video evidence from Michigan reveals a disturbing incident involving a home inspector engaging in inappropriate behavior with a child’s toy in a toddler’s bedroom. In a shocking turn of events, the child’s mother decided to review the footage from the at-home surveillance camera to assess the situation, only to discover that the defendant, Kevin Wayne VanLuven, had violated her trust.
“What if he had an STD and our son played with that or anything?” she told Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV in 2021. “What if we didn’t know? We have a toddler and a newborn baby too. There’s nothing more worse than when somebody comes to your home and you trust them to do a job and they go as hard as to do something like that in your child’s bedroom.”
In October 2022, jurors found VanLuven guilty of aggravated indecent exposure while clearing him of charges related to the malicious destruction of personal property valued under $200.
Video captured him positioned at the bedroom closet, turned away from the camera, and engaging in the act. He swiftly closed the zipper and positioned the doll out of sight on the opposite side of the room. As he proceeded, the Elmo doll could be heard letting out a prerecorded laugh. VanLuven rose to his feet, breathing heavily, and seemed to momentarily lock eyes with the camera.
In December 2022, he received a sentence of 19 days in jail, with credit for time already served, along with 18 months of probation. However, records indicate that he was convicted in January 2024 for violating the terms of his probation.