A 23-year-old Mount Vernon man is in custody after Posey County investigators say a tip from a national child-safety organization led them to chat logs and downloaded images tied to child sexual exploitation. Chase Gerton was taken to the Posey County Jail on Thursday following the investigation.
The case began when the Posey County Sheriff's Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to tristatehomepage.com, which reported that deputies received the tip back in September. Investigators said Gerton had downloaded images related to underage children, and deputies discovered chat logs in which he had asked for images of child pornography, the outlet reported.
Exactly how the charges are being described differs between reports. Tristatehomepage.com reported that Gerton faces two counts of distributing child sex abuse material, while 14 News reported that he was arrested on a warrant for two counts of distribution of child sex abuse material and one count of child pornography. Officials have not clarified which account is accurate, and details on bond, a court date, or legal representation have not been released.
Part of a Statewide Surge in Tips
Part of a Statewide Surge in Tips The arrest comes amid a dramatic rise in online child exploitation reports flowing through Indiana. The Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received 29,635 cyber tips in 2025, a 38% jump over the prior year, and had already logged nearly 3,000 tips in the opening weeks of 2026, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. The task force also grew by 50 officers last year, expanding from 470 to 520 law enforcement personnel statewide, the outlet reported.
Nationally, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children logged 37,755 CyberTipline reports associated with Indiana in 2025, including 28,000 referrals and 9,755 informational reports, per data published by ncmec.org. That marks a sharp increase from 2023, when 14,760 CyberTipline reports tied to Indiana were made available to law enforcement, according to a separate missingkids.org report. More than 1.9 million CyberTipline reports made in 2025 resolved to a U.S. state overall, per the same organization's data.
A National Pattern of Escalating Exploitation Reports
The volume isn't limited to one category of abuse. NCMEC's CyberTipline received 1.4 million reports concerning online enticement in 2025, and reports related to child sex trafficking climbed 323% compared with 2024, according to missingkids.org. The organization also logged an average of 137 financial sextortion reports per day last year, a 37% increase over the previous year.
No additional details about Gerton's case, including a booking number, bond amount, or scheduled court appearance, have been made public. The investigation remains active, and no information on a plea or case outcome has been released.
