MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man has been arrested for child exploitation and possession of child pornography.
According to an affidavit for probable cause filed Friday, 21-year-old Jeremy Michael Caldwell was taken into custody on Thursday. He now faces five preliminary charges related to child exploitation. Among those charges are the following:
- Possession of child pornography — Level 6 Felony
- Possession of child pornography that depicts a person younger than 12 years old — Level 5 Felony
- Participating in sexual conduct, matter, performance or incident by use of force or the threat of force — Level 4 Felony
After he was arrested, Caldwell was transported to the Delaware County Jail. His bond is set at $30,000 cash.
Indiana State Police's investigation of Caldwell's alleged activity began last July, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded them a tip from the social media company Discord Inc.
The tip indicated that 58 files containing child sexual materials were uploaded to the platform last May. The AOL email and username attached to the upload were included with the tip.
Per court documents, the tip also included two IP addresses, which state troopers then tracked to the Muncie area.
Police requested additional information about the IP address from the internet service provider it was tied to. Last June, the service provider gave investigators the physical address the IP address was connected to.
Court records indicate that state police then responded to the 600 block of West 9th Street in Muncie to conduct surveillance on the home the IP address was attached to. Police soon identified a suspect they believed was Caldwell.
After verifying Discord Inc.'s tip about the inappropriate materials that were uploaded to its platform, police executed a search warrant on the residence they believed Caldwell was living in.
Caldwell was taken into custody after police served the warrant. Court records show that he was then brought to the Delaware County Sheriff's Department for an interview.
State police reported that, during their interview with Caldwell, he admitted to using the email address and username attached to the inappropriate uploads Discord Inc. reported. He also confessed to viewing and sharing child pornography via the dark web and Discord.
Per court records, Caldwell also admitted to downloading child pornography and using it to masturbate.
As of this article's publication, a date had not been set for Caldwell to appear in court.
The most serious of the charges Caldwell faces — participating in sexual conduct, matter, performance or incident by use of force or threat of force — is a Level 4 Felony in Indiana. The maximum penalty for a Level 4 Felony in the Hoosier State is a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.