Search finds child porn on Lenoir man's cellphone
Mar. 6—LENOIR — A Lenoir man with a history of child sex crimes has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor after law enforcement discovered numerous child pornographic images on his phone.
Dwight D. Ferguson III, 22, of Lenoir, was arrested by Caldwell County sheriff's deputies on Friday, March 3. Detective Mike Hanson of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) local task force received a cyber tip from Google and DropBox.com that Ferguson's email address was suspicious, said Capt. Aaron Barlowe of the sheriff's office. After a search warrant was issued on Ferguson's phone, sheriff's deputies pulled photos containing child sexual abuse material that matched the information given in the cyber tip.
Ferguson was charged with felony third degree sexual exploitation of a minor and violation of his parole. A third degree charge means the suspect was in possession of child sexual abuse material or pornography.
He was also already on probation for indecent liberties with a 4-year-old child from back in 2019. He is listed on the North Carolina sex offenders registry.
His bond is secured at $25,000.
The cyber tip program operates through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Internet subscribers such as Google, DropBox, or Yahoo will flag any child porn or correspondence and report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which in turn distributes the information to the state level. In Caldwell County, Detective Hanson is designated as cyber tip staff.
To learn more or to make a report, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website at missingkids.org.
Additionally, more information can be found by going to the Internet Crimes Against Children website at icactaskforce.org.
