Staff reports
A Kannapolis man already charged with sex offenses against two girls now faces more charges after police discovered he photographed and made at least one sexually explicit movie with minors.
On Oct. 15, Kannapolis officers filed four charges of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor against Billy Joe Tysinger of 302 Easy St. A magistrate increased Tysinger’s bond by $25,000, to $275,000.
Tysinger celebrated his 37th birthday in jail this week.
Detectives got information that Tysinger “had hidden a media storage device and the device possibly contained illegal material,” according to a press release. Detectives located this device and discovered it, in fact, contained several photographic images and a short homemade video.”These images and video were sexually explicit and depicted minor victims previously known to Kannapolis investigators.”
The press release does not indicate where detectives found the video, pictures or video equipment.
The investigation of Tysinger began July 31 after the mother of a girl came to the Police Department and filed a report.
During the course of the investigation, detectives determined that Tysinger had acted inappropriately with two girls, ages 10 and 11, possibly over a period of several months.
Detectives conducted numerous interviews during the investigation, which led to sufficient probable cause to arrest Tysinger on the charges.
Detectives arrested Tysinger in mid-August, when he turned himself in.
He was charged with six counts of first-degree sex offense against a child and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.