ALUM BRIDGE, W.Va. — A Gilmer County man is facing felony charges after state investigators alleged he repeatedly accessed online child sexual abuse material through a foreign website.
According to the West Virginia State Police, 38-year-old Jeremy Dobbins of Alum Bridge was charged with possession of material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct following a months-long investigation.
The investigation began in late January after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children submitted a cybertip to the West Virginia State Police. Investigators said the report identified a Google account allegedly linked to Dobbins that contained files suspected of depicting child sexual abuse material.
Authorities said a second cybertip received in early March identified another file associated with the same account. Investigators later determined the file allegedly contained illegal child sexual abuse material.
State police obtained search warrants for Dobbins’ Google account, his cellphone and his workplace. During the investigation, authorities allege Dobbins admitted to accessing a Russian-based image-sharing website that contained child sexual abuse material using his mobile phone.
According to investigators, records obtained from the Google account showed more than 1,400 browser visits to the website, with webpage titles indicating content involving the sexual exploitation of children.
Dobbins was arrested and is currently being held at the Central Regional Jail without bond.
The charge is an allegation, and Dobbins is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
