On Feb. 19, 2026, Gaston County Police arrested 57-year-old Jonathan Edward Johnson of Dallas and charged him with a dozen felony counts tied to online child sexual exploitation. Investigators say the case centers on the downloading and sharing of sexually exploitative digital images and videos.
Gaston County Police announced the arrest in a Facebook post. According to WSOCTV, Johnson faces six counts each of third-degree and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and is being held in the Gaston County Jail without bond. Authorities have released few details while digital evidence is processed.
Charges and what investigators say
Court filings reviewed by WCNC Charlotte allege investigators found child-sexual-abuse material on electronic devices and that some of the files included infants. The same filings also allege Johnson sent files to another person. Prosecutors and detectives say they cannot disclose further investigative details at this time. The charging document describes possession and distribution of digital images as the focus of the probe.
Task force ties and how investigations start
Gaston County government news pages note the investigation involved the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as members of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. The NCMEC CyberTipline is the national reporting system that often generates referrals to local ICAC teams, according to NCMEC. Multi-agency coordination is common in these probes because digital forensics and cross-jurisdictional leads are frequently required.
Legal note
North Carolina treats the offenses differently: second-degree sexual exploitation generally covers recording or distributing material that depicts minors engaged in sexual activity, while third-degree typically covers possession; penalties and registration rules vary by degree. Those statutes are set out in state law (see the North Carolina General Statutes), and anyone charged is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective J. Waldrop at 704-866-3320 or Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000, per the department’s Facebook post. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.
