Cyber tips from the Crimes Against Children database led investigators to believe that 39-year-old Joshua Lee Gilliam and 39-year-old Ronald Wayne Lynch Jr. were in possession of child sexual abuse material.
A North Carolina gay couple with five sons has been arrested on criminal charges following an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse material.
Cyber tips from the Crimes Against Children database led investigators to believe that 39-year-old Joshua Lee Gilliam and 39-year-old Ronald Wayne Lynch Jr. were in possession of child sexual abuse material. Investigators later searched the pair’s house, where multiple electronic devices were seized.
The two are being charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Gilliam faces additional charges of first-degree statutory sexual offense and indecent liberties with a minor, and received no bond. Lynch also faces a charge of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and received a $360,000 secured bond.
“The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office continues to work closely with the NCSBI and partner agencies to investigate crimes involving the exploitation of children and to ensure the safety and protection of victims and citizens of Harnett County,” the sheriff’s office said, according to CBS 17.
Katy Faust, founder of the children’s rights nonprofit Them Before Us, commented on the case in a post on X, saying that the couple acquired their last child via surrogacy.
“BREAKING: Josh and Wayne Gilliam have been arrested on child sex abuse charges. Per X bio, they have five sons and were ‘married" in 2020. The last child at least was acquired at the hospital,” Faust wrote. “Note: sexual predators can procure surrogate babies with no background checks.”
It is unclear at this time if the couple’s adopted children were involved in the crimes.
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