Iredell County Deputies Arrest Old Mountain Road Resident Following Child Porn Ivestigation

Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell states that On January 10th, his office received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a suspect in Iredell County possibly in possession of child pornography. The investigation was assigned to Detective E. Lane with the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit. Detective Lane identified the suspect as Matthew Scott Sells, 38, of 255 Old Mountain Road, Statesville. The investigation included search warrants being obtained for online email accounts belonging to the suspect. As a result of the search warrants, Detective Lane recovered evidence of Sells being in possession of several files of child pornography.

Based on evidence obtained, Detective Lane interviewed Sells, who confessed to the crimes. Additional search warrants were issued for electronic devices belonging to Sells which revealed thousands more digital files of child pornography.

Based on collected information from the CyberTip, suspect interview, and the forensic analysis of electronic devices, Detective Lane obtained a warrant for arrest against Sells for 10 counts of Second-Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, Sells was arrested and placed the Iredell County Detention Center where he was issued a $250,000 secured bond.

The investigation is on-going, and additional charges are pending further investigation