An Oak Island man was arrested Wednesday and charged with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and he was being held without bond at the Brunswick County Jail as of Wednesday night. Mitchell Tyler Moore, 44, is accused of possessing and duplicating explicit photos of children under the age of 18, according to arrest warrants.
Moore was arrested by Oak Island police officers on Sept. 30, as reported by Port City Daily. According to court documents, he was charged with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in Brunswick County. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation says it assisted the Oak Island Police Department with the execution of a search warrant Wednesday, Sept. 30, according to WCTI 12.
Cyber Tip Triggered the Investigation
The search warrant stemmed from an investigation connected to a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, per the same account from WCTI. Warrants allege Moore possessed and duplicated various explicit photos of children under the age of 18, as reported by WECT.
Moore was booked into the Brunswick County Jail, WCTI 12 reports; authorities cited by the station said he was being held without bond. He is expected to be seen by a judge Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Brunswick County Courthouse, Port City Daily reports.
Investigation Remains Open
The investigation remains ongoing, according to WWAY TV3. No further details about the scope of the search warrant or additional suspects have been released.
North Carolina law defines second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor as an offense committed when a person, knowing the character or content of the material, engages in one of several acts specified under the statute, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The warrants allege that Moore possessed and duplicated explicit photos of children under the age of 18.
Cases like Moore's arrive amid a flood of CyberTipline activity nationwide. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported receiving 21.3 million reports in 2025 alone, containing more than 61.8 million images, videos and other files tied to suspected child sexual exploitation, according to the organization's own data.
