On 09/20/2024, Robert Cody West, a 28-year-old resident of Holly Ridge, North Carolina, was arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material with the assistance of several law enforcement agencies. The arrest followed a CyberTip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Holly Ridge Police Department charged West with twenty counts of felony Second-Degree Sexual Exploitation of Minors and he was released on a $100,000 secured bond. He is scheduled for his first appearance in Onslow County District Court on 09/23/2024.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed. The Holly Ridge Police Department is committed to combating the distribution of child sexual abuse material. The images of children filmed being sexually abused are traded among perpetrators and spread worldwide, which revictimizes the children. In this case, as in many others investigated by the Holly Ridge Police Department, the ages of the child victims being sexually assaulted range from infants to 16-year-old males. In the state of North Carolina, any person under the age of eighteen filmed or photographed engaged in sexual activity or displaying their genitalia in sexually graphic/explicit manners is considered child sexual abuse material.
The Holly Ridge Police Department encourages parents to monitor their children's online activity.
The Holly Ridge Police Department requests the public’s assistance for anyone with pertinent information regarding West and these criminal charges is asked to contact Detective Brandi Thompson at 910-329-4076 ext 202.
