IFN Staff

An eastern Iredell County resident faces felony charges in connection with an Iredell County Sheriff’s Office investigation into concerns about secret videos made of a child.

Sheriff Darren Campbell announced the arrest of James Thomas Riddle, 68, in a news release on Friday. 

The Sheriff’s Office received a report on March 18 from a parent who found a trail camera secretly placed and pointed toward their child’s bedroom, Campbell said. After inspecting the camera, the parent found there were several photos on the camera of their child in the nude, according to the news release.

The parent suspected another family member of placing the camera and pointing it toward the child’s room, Campbell said.

This investigation was assigned to ICSO Special Victim’s Unit Detective E. Lane.

During the investigation, Detective Lane conducted interviews, examined electronic devices, and reviewed camera footage from the secretly placed camera discovered inside the home, according to the news release.

After Riddle was identified a suspect, Detective Lane discovered Riddle had captured several explicit images of the juvenile with the camera, the sheriff said.

Based on evidence collected during the investigation, Detective Lane obtained arrest warrants charging Riddle with Felony Secret Peeping and Felony Third-Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.

Riddle was arrested on Wednesday, April 2, and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center, where he is being held under a $75,000 secured bond issued by Magistrate Thompson.