A 57-year-old Rowan County man is sitting in jail without bond after detectives say he spent two months trading child sexual abuse material, with a search of his electronic devices turning up evidence that led to nine felony charges. Fred Thomas Tyner III was booked into the Rowan County Detention Center and is due to make his first court appearance on Friday, October 9.
According to reporting by the Salisbury Post, Rowan County Sheriff's Office detectives opened an investigation earlier this month after receiving information that Tyner had been exchanging child sexual abuse material over the prior two months. Detectives executed a search warrant for his electronic devices on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, and the same report notes he is scheduled for his initial court appearance in Rowan County on Friday, October 9.
Detectives determined Tyner was involved in sending and receiving the illicit material, and evidence from the investigation indicated he had also purchased such material, which included both videos and photos, according to WCCB Charlotte. In some instances, the station reports, Tyner disseminated the material to others.
Nine Felony Counts, No Bond
Tyner was charged with seven counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, per the same account. He is being held at the Rowan County Detention Center without bond while the investigation continues, with detectives still working to determine who else may have been involved and to identify the victims depicted in the material.
The two charge categories carry very different statutory weight. Third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, covering the knowing possession of such material, is a Class H felony under North Carolina law, according to Patrick Roberts Law Blog. Second-degree sexual exploitation, which covers distribution, receipt, transport, or duplication of the material, is instead classified as a Class E felony — a tier that carries significantly higher prison ranges than possession alone, the blog notes. Any conviction under either tier would also trigger a mandatory requirement to register as a sex offender.
Part of a Statewide Surge in Digital Exploitation Cases
Tyner's arrest lands amid a sharp statewide climb in reported online child exploitation cases. State Bureau of Investigation data cited by WRAL shows reports of online child exploitation in North Carolina jumped 1,115 percent between 2019 and 2026. Nationally, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children logged more than 21 million total CyberTipline reports in 2025, with online enticement reports alone rising 158 percent year-over-year to more than 1.4 million, according to missingkids.org.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's Computer Crimes Unit leads the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which coordinates with more than 200 local, state, and federal agencies on digital forensics and CyberTipline referrals. Rowan County has seen several such cases surface in recent months. In February, the sheriff's office arrested 33-year-old Veronica Rose Yerry of China Grove after an FBI investigation uncovered videos depicting infant sexual abuse, charging her with first- and second-degree sexual exploitation. In January, Salisbury Police and the State Bureau of Investigation arrested 35-year-old Rowan-Salisbury Schools teacher Juan Pablo Valencia-Chavez on a third-degree sexual exploitation charge following an October 2025 CyberTipline report.
Hoodline has covered a similar Rowan County case involving a former school resource officer charged after a CyberTipline tip, and reported on a High Point man facing 65 counts after a separate device seizure earlier this month. Detectives have not said whether Tyner's investigation began with an automated CyberTip or a tip from a local source, and the probe into additional suspects and victim identities remains ongoing.
