Sixteen-Year-Old Arrested for Child Exploitation and Child Pornography Charges

Lengthy investigation led to the arrest

Clark County – A Cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led to the arrest of a Charlestown teenager for possession of child pornography and child exploitation.  

Detectives with the Indiana State Police - Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force in Sellersburg began an investigation in July 2023 after receiving a cyber tip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The cyber tip report indicated that a specific account was possibly used to transmit child pornography images or video files.  

Utilizing the information provided in the tip, investigators were able to identify and locate the specific account used to transmit the pornographic images. Investigators identified a 16-year-old male from the Charlestown, Indiana, area as the account user. Investigators conducted interviews with the juvenile suspect and his mother and obtained search warrants to conduct forensic examinations of electronic devices associated with the suspect. As a result, on Thursday, October 5, 2023, Troopers from the Indiana State Police post in Sellersburg arrested the suspect at his residence on three counts of Child Exploitation, each a level 4 felony, and four counts of Possession of Child Pornography, each a level 5 felony. The suspect was remanded into the custody of the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center. 

The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is a multiagency task force that investigates and prosecutes persons who use the internet to sexually exploit or entice children, and the Indiana State Police oversees the task force.

The Indiana ICAC Task Force encourages Hoosiers to report online exploitation, solicitation, and enticement-type crimes against children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC website can be accessed through the ICAC Task Force website. To report a crime with your child as a victim involving the Internet or other electronic means, please contact your local Indiana law enforcement agency.