YORK COUNTY, S.C.,None — A registered sex offender is back in jail after a man found his cellphone and discovered child pornography on it, deputies said.
Robert Joseph Norris, 37, is charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. York County sheriff's deputies said someone reported finding his cellphone in a room at Porter's Motel on North Cherry Road.
That discovery led deputies to some apartments on Lesslie Highway, south of Rock Hill. Deputies confronted Norris, who admitted the phone was his.
They seized two cellphones and several DVDs from his room.
Donnie Smith lives right next door. He's seen Norris around but couldn't believe it when Channel 9 told him what had happened.
"I'm shocked. He just didn't look like that kind of a person. You wouldn't think it of him. He's quiet," Smith said.
Eyewitness News did some checking and learned why Norris is a registered sex offender in York County. He was convicted in 2002 of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under 11 years old. His victim was a 4-year-old girl.
"Awful. That's just, he needs to be in jail," Smith said. "That's terrible."
Norris apparently just moved out of Porter's Motel, where his phone was found a few days ago, when the motel permanently closed.
York County sheriff's detectives believe he got the explicit photos online and did not take them himself. However, they are still investigating where they came from, and aren't sure yet if any more charges will be filed.
As of late Friday, Norris was in jail without bond.
WSOC
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