Date/Time of Offense: January 2020 through August 2021.
Offense(s)/Charge(s): 30 Counts of Felony Third Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
Location of Incident: 1506 Eufola Road, Statesville.
Suspect(s): Tony Ernest Bunton, 64 Years Old
1506 Eufola Road
Statesville, North Carolina
Sheriff Darren Campbell stated: On Friday, October 1, 2021, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit received 30 Felony Arrest Warrants for Tony Ernest Bunton. The basis for these additional warrants came from pictures, and videos of child pornography which had been downloaded onto computers owned by Bunton. The computers were seized from his residence on Monday, August 30, 2021 when Bunton was originally arrested, and a search warrant for child pornography was executed at his Eufola Road home.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit received information through a cyber-tip from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation regarding a person in Iredell County being in possession of Child Pornography. The case was investigated by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit.
Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Detectives, and Road Patrol Deputies executed the search warrant on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. During the search of the residence, Detectives seized several electronic devices and other items of evidence from inside the residence. The suspect, Tony Ernest Bunton was located at the residence. He was taken into custody and taken to the Iredell County Detention Center where he was charged with: Four Counts of Felony Third Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. He appeared before Magistrate P. Tutterrow who issued a 100,000.00 dollar secure bond on these charges.
Bunton was out of custody on bond when Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Squad Deputies arrested him at his home on Friday, October 1, 2021 on the 30 new Felony Arrest Warrants. He was brought to the Iredell County Detention Center where he was served with the new warrants and appeared before Magistrate D. Chambers who issued a 350,000.00 dollars secured bond on these charges.