A 46-year-old Charlotte man known for his food and restaurant reviews was arrested Tuesday and charged with soliciting a child by computer, according to court records. Timothy Depeugh is accused of offering to pay someone he believed was a 15-year-old for sex and offering to arrange transportation to his house.
Court Records Detail Alleged Online Conversations
According to court records cited by Yahoo News, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested Depeugh on October 13 and charged him with one felony count of soliciting a child by computer. The records allege the conversations took place on social media platforms and iMessage, and that Depeugh believed he was communicating with someone who was 15 years old.
Per the same court records, Depeugh offered to pay the person for sex and offered to arrange transportation to his home. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, the outlet reported.
Mugshot Listing Confirms Charge
Depeugh also appears on a Mecklenburg County mugshot list published by WCCB Charlotte, which names him alongside the same soliciting-a-child-by-computer charge. That listing notes, as with all individuals named in such reports, that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A profile hosted by the Charlotte Observer describes a Timothy DePeugh as a Charlotte food writer who has won two North Carolina Press Association awards for his restaurant reviews and food features. The evidence does not independently verify whether this is the same individual named in the court records beyond the matching name.
Part of a Broader Pattern in North Carolina
Depeugh's arrest comes amid other recent cases involving online solicitation charges in the state. A separate three-day undercover operation in Catawba County, reported by WSOC-TV, involved federal, state and local law enforcement officers posing online as children and parents. That operation led to 10 arrests of people from North Carolina and Virginia and a total of 40 charges, including soliciting a child by computer for a sex act and attempted indecent liberties with a child, according to the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
In that case, investigators directed suspects who believed they were communicating with minors to meet at a home where law enforcement teams were waiting. It is not known whether Depeugh's case involved a similar undercover sting setup, as the full arrest warrant has not been made public.
North Carolina law defines solicitation of a child by computer in General Statutes Section 14-202.3, whose subsection (a) specifies the offense's elements and subsection (c) sets out its felony classifications and penalties. No statement from Depeugh, an attorney, or the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has been made available, and the outcome of his scheduled first court appearance has not been reported.
