Kentucky State Police charge Williamsburg man with child sexual exploitation offenses

An investigation by the Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force has resulted in the arrest of a Williamsburg man on charges related to child sexual abuse material.

At 3:01 p.m. Thursday, Kentucky State Police Detective Jason Dials arrested Hobert Lee Elswick, 48, and charged him with five counts of possessing or viewing matter portraying a minor in a sexual performance and four counts of distribution of matter portraying a minor in a sexual performance and lodged him in the Whitley County Detention Center.

The charges are each Class ‘D’ felonies punishable by one to five years in prison.

Elswick was arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation. The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after discovering the suspect uploading images of child sexual exploitation online, according to a state police release.

The investigation resulted in the execution of a search warrant at a residence in Williamsburg on Dec. 17, 2020. Equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized and taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination.

The investigation is ongoing.

The Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is comprised of more than twenty-six local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the United States Department of Justice and administrated by the Kentucky State Police, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing a response to cyber enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations, according to a KSP release.

This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity of predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.