MONROE, N.C. — A Pennsylvania man has been charged with sending inappropriate messages to a Union County teen.
Investigators determined that 45-year-old Christian Winterhalter exchanged sexually explicit messages with the teenage girl and sent nude images of himself, as well as asking for images from her.
Christian Winterhalter
Winterhalter is a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month. Union County Sheriff’s detectives traveled to Pennsylvania to follow up on leads with the help of Homeland Security agents and local authorities.
Detectives and Homeland Security agents searched Winterhalter’s residence and located evidence confirming the illicit contact between Winterhalter and the victim.
Winterhalter currently remains in custody in Pennsylvania but will face numerous felony charges following his extradition to North Carolina including five counts of Second Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of
Disseminating Obscenity to a Minor.
Sheriff Eddie Cathey said, “We are grateful for the assistance that Homeland Security and local authorities in Beaver County, Pennsylvania provided. This case is a perfect example of how modern technology provides predators opportunities to exploit children but thankfully we have resources to bring them to justice.”
