BEDFORD – Following a lengthy investigation into the distribution and possession of child pornography, the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit arrested a Bedford man on Tuesday, July 30.
Police arrested 43-year-old Joshua Shane Carter on charges of three counts of distribution of child pornography under 12 years of age, a Level 4 felony, and seven counts of possession of child pornography, a Level 5 felony. He is also facing charges in North Carolina.
Indiana State Police ICAC Detective Robert Whyte and Indiana ICAC Task Force members served a residential search warrant at Carter’s residence. After receiving two cyber tip reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Whyte investigated and identified Carter as the suspect.
NCMEC is a private, non-profit organization providing services nationwide to families and law enforcement officials relating to the prevention of abduction and sexual exploitation of children.
During Detective Whyte’s investigation, Homeland Security Investigations of North Carolina made contact and advised their agency had initiated an investigation into Carter after he had shared child pornography on Discord.
Discord is an instant messaging social media platform that allows users to communicate with other users through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, and other media.
Detective Whyte, with assistance from the ICAC Task Force and the INVICTUS Task Force, which includes North Carolina HSI and the North Carolina Randolph County and Alamance County sheriff’s departments, served the search warrant at Carter’s residence Tuesday morning.
Carter was arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail.
This is not the first time Carter has been arrested on child pornography charges he was arrested in May 2014. Carter was downloading and viewing child pornography on his computer. Police allege Carter downloaded images of prepubescent children engaged in sex acts. He was released from jail and placed on house arrest.
Carter pleaded guilty in a negotiated plea deal to a lesser charge of obscene performance, a Class D felony. He was sentenced to 912 days in jail, was given credit for 214 days serviced, and was ordered to pay $168 in court costs. He was not required to register as a sex offender. While on probation, his probation officer was ordered to supervise internet use to ensure Carter had no access to pornography.
The Indiana ICAC Task Force is a multiagency task force that investigates and prosecutes persons who use the internet to exploit or entice children sexually. 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 NCMEC. The NCMEC website can be accessed through the ICAC Task Force website. To report a crime involving the Internet or other electronic means with your child as a victim, please contact your local Indiana law enforcement agency.
ICAC Taskforce website: https://www.in.gov/isp/icactf/.
