HAGERSTOWN – Casey Simpson, a resident of Lincoln, Arkansas, has been charged in Washington County, Maryland, with 10 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving children, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
He was arrested Aug. 5 following a tip provided by a detective working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Maryland,
The investigation began when the detective, whose sensitive work requires anonymity, received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding uploads of child sexual abuse material. The tip linked the material to a phone number traced to Simpson.
Detectives from the two Arkansas counties collaborated to secure and execute a May 22 search warrant at Simpson’s home. He initially denied having downloaded the material, claiming it must have been an accident.
However, a search of the home under the warrant turned up multiple electronic devices containing sexual images linked to Simpson. Presented with the evidence in a follow-up interview on Aug. 5, Simpson allegedly admitted to downloading and “trading” the material, the sheriff’s office said.
Charged with 10 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, Simpson is being held in Washington County (Arkansas) pending further legal proceedings.
Authorities noted this is an arrest, not a conviction. The case highlights the importance of interstate cooperation, with Maryland’s Task Force and the National Center collaborating with Arkansas law enforcement.
The ICAC Cyber Tipline and social platform data showed 29.2 million incidents of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2024. The National Center receives about 50 daily reports and identifies over 51,000 urgent current cases involving children in imminent danger.
Funded partly by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services, ICAC is a statewide network of federal, state and local agencies, including Washington County, which handle crimes that often cross state lines, requiring coordination with other states, such as Arkansas in this case.
