CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Twenty-four people are charged statewide in a massive police crackdown on child pornography in North Carolina.
State Attorney General Roy Cooper called the suspects the worst child exploiters in the state. Police used new technology to track down the suspects, who thought that they were on the Internet anonymously.
Six men from the Charlotte area were arrested in what police called "Operation Spyglass." Two are from the city of Charlotte.
William Warren, 70, from east Charlotte is charged with possession of child pornography. A neighbor and friend told Channel 9 that she often ate dinner with Warren's family, and had no idea of his arrest.
Reginald Peters Jr., 43, has already been indicted for possession of child pornography. Eyewitness News spoke to his sister and uncle Thursday afternoon. They did not have any comment about his arrest.
Four other suspects from the area are also charged: Michael Joe Sanders, 31, of Caldwell County; 46-year-old David Lee Gillespie of Rowan County; 37-year-old Billy Ray Woodle of Rowan County; and 42-year-old Mark Aspden of Catawba County.
Some of the children seen in the pornographic pictures are as young as 3 years old.
Cooper said police statewide are still doing searches and expect to make more arrests.
He would not discuss the new technology used to find people who allegedly had child pornography. He said officers did not want to tip off suspects.
WSOC
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