CARTERET COUNTY, NC – Detectives with the Carteret County Sheriff’s
Office Criminal Investigations Division arrested a Carteret County man
Thursday morning on charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors.
The suspect, Caleb Samuel Keene, 21, of Newport, NC, is charged with five
felony counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and five felony
counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Keene was arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against
Children (ICAC) investigation. Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office ICAC Task
Force, along with the Pine Knoll Shores Police Department, began the
investigation after discovering the suspect was in possession of and
distributing images and videos of child exploitation online.
The investigation resulted in the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Newport, NC on Thursday
morning. Detectives took Keene into custody and equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized as
evidence. The ICAC Task Force was assisted by the Newport Police Department, North Carolina State
Bureau of Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigations Services, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Keene is currently in the Carteret County Jail under a $100,000 secured bond. His first court appearance
was scheduled for Thursday morning.
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