A 21-year-old Stoney Creek man is facing a child exploitation charge after Carter County deputies raided his Price Road home Thursday and seized multiple electronic storage devices tied to an active investigation, authorities said.
Deputies arrested Jay Ruiz and charged him with sexual exploitation of a minor. He was booked into the Carter County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $10,000 bond. Sheriff Mike Fraley said the seized electronics will be turned over for forensic analysis as investigators continue combing through the materials.
In a post on the Carter County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, deputies said the probe began on Jan. 12 after they received information that alleged child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to a social-media account. Investigators said account data from that platform helped them identify Ruiz and secure a search warrant.
According to the post, the search was carried out at Ruiz's residence on Price Road in Stoney Creek and turned up multiple electronic devices during the sweep. The sheriff's office said the investigation is still underway and that additional charges could be filed once forensic specialists finish their work.
Search Yielded Multiple Devices
Local reporting by WJHL notes that K9 Daisey, a certified electronic-storage detection dog, was brought in to help officers locate phones, external hard drives and other media during the search of the home.
Deputies recovered multiple storage devices, which have all been submitted for forensic analysis, according to authorities. Sheriff Fraley publicly thanked investigators for their work and highlighted Daisey's role, saying the dog "assisted our investigators in recovering important evidence."
How The Tip Reached Investigators
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children runs the CyberTipline, a centralized reporting system that collects suspected online child exploitation reports and forwards leads - including account names, timestamps and other metadata - to law enforcement agencies for follow-up.
That pipeline is how many upload-based cases are traced from an online platform back to a specific location, with NCMEC materials outlining how reports are routed to the appropriate investigators. Carter County officials said the tip they received in this case included the date, time and username tied to the uploads, which allowed deputies to pursue a targeted search.
Why K9 Daisey Matters
Electronic storage-detection K9s like Daisey are trained to detect chemical compounds found in circuit boards and memory chips, giving officers an extra tool when searching for hidden electronics that people can easily stash in plain sight.
Agencies that use these dogs say they can speed up searches, uncover devices that might otherwise be missed and help preserve items for forensic imaging, which can be crucial in child-exploitation investigations. For more background on how such K9 units are trained and deployed, see coverage from WECT.
Charges And Legal Context
Ruiz faces one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and is being held on a $10,000 bond, according to the sheriff's office. Prosecutors are expected to review the results of the forensic analysis before deciding whether to pursue additional charges.
Under Tennessee law, sexual exploitation of a minor is defined in T.C.A. § 39-17-1003, a statute that can be charged as a felony and carries penalties that increase with the number of images involved or other aggravating factors.
If convicted, penalties can include prison time and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Each image or video may be charged as a separate offense, depending on how prosecutors choose to structure the case.
The Carter County Sheriff's Office says the investigation remains active and that investigators will continue reviewing digital evidence and following up on leads. Local prosecutors will determine the final slate of charges once forensic examinations are complete.
