US Marshals arrest Candler man arrested on child pornography charges; released from jail

Ryley Ober, Asheville Citizen Times
·2 min read
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ASHEVILLE - The U.S. Marshals Service in Western North Carolina along with Homeland Security Investigations arrested a Buncombe County man on multiple child pornography charges July 2 in Candler.

Jake Ben Paul Lohr, 46, of Candler, faces three counts of distributing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography after he was federally indicted on June 4, according to court documents.

The Marshals Service helped arrest Lohr July 2 at the Family Dollar at 298 Dogwood Road in Candler, according to Assistant Chief Brian Alfano.

“He left his house and ended up going over there to that Family Dollar. We were able to take him into custody outside (the store),” Alfano told the Citizen Times.

While investigating his alleged offenses, law enforcement seized Lohr’s property on Feb. 28, including an HP laptop, a Toshiba laptop, two hard disk drives and a USB drive, according to court documents. A grand jury found probable cause to remove Lohr’s ownership of these items.

Court documents indicate Lohr allegedly received child pornography transported between states from about February 2018 until February 2024. Law enforcement also say he distributed child pornography in January of this year and December 2023.

More: Canton man sentenced in Asheville federal court for child pornography offenses

Lohr had an initial appearance on July 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in downtown Asheville. He retained attorney Sean Devereux as his defense counsel, and a detention hearing was set for July 8, according to court documents.

At the detention hearing held before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf, Lohr pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial, court documents show.

Lohr was previously held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility but was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond, meaning he’d have to pay that amount if he fails to appear in court, according to Devereux.

He was given “the standard terms of release: not commit any additional crime, no alcohol, no controlled substances and he was placed on a curfew, if I’m not mistaken,” Devereux said.

More: Virginia man who drove to WNC for sex acts with toddler federally convicted, sentenced

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: US Marshals arrest Candler man on child pornography, pleads not guilty