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Photo credit: Caldwell County Courthouse. By Indy beetle – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131651686
Following an investigation from a tip by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Ashley James Crouse, a pastor at a church in Caldwell County, NC, was arrested on Nov. 3, 2023. According to Greenville, SC NBC News affiliate, WYFF, Crouse will now spend the next 10 years in prison and supervision for the rest of his life after his sentence, after he was found to be in the possession of more than 10,000 images of child sexual abuse across multiple devices – including his church computer.
Local law enforcement, after receiving the tip, determined that a Dropbox account user had uploaded videos containing explicit child sexual abuse material, and that user was Crouse. During Crouse’s arrest, detectives seized a computer tower, an iPad, and two thumb drives.
According to WIYY reporter, Zach Rainey, Crouse admitted to law enforcement officers that he had been downloading and collecting child pornography for five to six years and that he viewed the material at the church while multi-tasking and completing church business.
Crouse routinely used his computer at the church to access, view, and download child pornography, the investigation revealed. Meanwhile, a forensic examination of Crouse’s church computer and other digital devices demonstrated that Crouse shared child pornography and links to child pornography through the Telegram application and that he had used AI and a software program to make child and other pornography.
Crouse had over 1,200 videos and 450 images depicting the sexual abuse of children in his possession. Investigators also discovered that Crouse kept a book, outlining in detail how to sexually abuse children. The forensic examiner further found evidence that Crouse had installed an anti-forensic software program on his church computer which he used to permanently delete files and folders.
Crouse, who was sentenced earlier today, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography that involved a minor under the age of 12, and receipt of child pornography on Aug. 21, 2024.
