Gaston police aid in child porn investigation

County authorities arrested a man this week on child pornography charges.

Charles Kevin Bridges, 54, of 1768 Bethlehem Road, is charged with three counts of second-degree exploitation of a minor and three counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor, said Cleveland County Sheriff's Office Capt. Joel Shores.

“The investigation originated with Gaston police and moved its way up to the FBI,” Shores said. “After conducting an investigation, we found he lived in Cleveland County and the sheriff’s office got involved.”

Multiple computers, iPads and iPhones were seized from Bridges’s house, Shores said.

The equipment allegedly contained videos and photos of girls between 5 and 14 years old engaging in sexual activity with adults or exposing body parts to web cams, according to court documents. In some videos, warrants state, the girls had duct tape covering their mouths.

Bridges was arrested Thursday and jailed on a $500,000 secured bond.

He was no longer listed as an inmate as of Friday afternoon.