New preliminary hearing scheduled for Sylvanie

A preliminary hearing was continued Tuesday in the case of a Boulder City man accused of downloading child sexual abuse images.

Terry Sylvanie, 49, was arrested on Dec. 19. His criminal complaint, filed in Boulder City Justice Court on Dec. 22, accuses him of downloading the material “on or about” March 11, 2025.

Sylvanie faces at least five counts of preparing, advertising or distributing material depicting child sexual abuse images, according to court records.

According to Nevada Revised Statutes, if convicted, he faces one to 15 years in prison for each count.

The abuse material he is accused of downloading featured children ranging in age from infancy to 8, according to Sylvanie’s criminal complaint.

His preliminary hearing is now set for 1 p.m. on April 7 in Boulder City Justice Court.

Sylvanie was provided a public defender following his arrest. However, Tuesday he was represented by Las Vegas-based attorney Joshua Tomsheck.

The defendant was not in court, but his attorney appeared via Zoom in front of Boulder City Justice of the Peace Christopher Tilman. The matter took just under a minute. Tomsheck said the Clark County district attorney’s office had approved Sylvanie’s absence.

Last week, Las Vegas police reported that Sylvanie was on house arrest and not housed at the Clark County Detention Center, which listed him as an inmate. Bail had been set at $120,000. As part of bail, he was told he must refrain from using the internet and was prohibited from being around minor children, according to a court document.

A Boulder City spokesperson previously told the Review that Sylvanie’s arrest was not the result of an investigation by Boulder City police. Boulder City Justice Court denied a public records request by the Las Vegas Review-Journal for Sylvanie’s arrest report, citing the FBI as the agency in custody of the report.

FBI Las Vegas Division Public Affairs Officer Sandy Breault said in an emailed statement that the bureau could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation unless charges are filed.

———

Las Vegas Review-Journal staff writer Casey Harrison contributed to this report.