Belmont man caught with hundreds of images of child porn, police say

BELMONT, N.C. — A Belmont man is behind bars after police said he was in possession of hundreds of images of child pornography.

Gaston County police charged 20-year-old Patrick Burke with four felony counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and four more felony counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Officers said the charges stem from a search warrant executed by the police department at Burke’s home on July 16.

According to a release, that search came as result of a cybercrimes tip received from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. During the search, detectives seized electronic storage devices belonging to Burke and found hundreds of stored images of child pornography.

Burke is in the Gaston County Jail being held without bond.

This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. R.L. Smith at 704-866-3320 or Crimestoppers at 704-861-8000.

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Cox Media Group