On Tuesday, June 6, 2023 members of the United States Marshal’s Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Leason Kington III at a residence in Milton, Florida. He was wanted by the Gaston County Police Department on twenty (20) felony counts of 3rd degree sexual exploitation of a minor and eighteen (18) felony counts of 2nd degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He is currently incarcerated at the Santa Rosa County Jail in Milton, Florida. He is being held without bond, pending extradition back to Gaston County.
The charges in this case stem from a report of child sexual abuse investigated by detectives with the Gaston County Police. Kington fled the state before the investigation concluded. He left behind electronic devices, which were seized pursuant to a search warrant and subsequently forensically examined, where several thousand images and videos of child pornography were located.
The Gaston County Police would like to thank our partner public safety agencies, the United States Marshal’s Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.
Although Leason Kington III is in custody, the investigation into this case is on-going. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Det. J. Shaw at 704-866-3320 or Crimestoppers at 704-861-8000. A Crimestoppers reward of up to $1,000 is available for information pertinent to the investigation. There is no further information available at this time.
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