Images ‘y’all don’t want to see’ bring child porn charges against man

SEARCY — A Searcy 29year-old who told White County deputies that his phone contained images “y’all don’t want to see” officially has been charged with 10 counts of child pornography. A warrant was issued last week for Anthony Brett Reynolds at the request of the 17th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on charges of distributing/possession or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a subsequent event and class B felonies.

Reynolds has remained in the White County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond since his arrest Nov. 22. No court date had been set as of Thursday morning. Reynolds’ arrest followed Detective Blake Ellis of the

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REYNOLDS STATE

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White County Sheriff’s Office receiving a cybertip Nov.

18 from the Arkansas Division of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Ellis wrote in the affidavit that a video had been flagged by “an electronic service provider” for “being sent as child sexual abuse material.”

After Ellis confirmed the content of the video, information about who sent it was provided and Reynolds was located through the Arkansas Crime Information Center/National Crime Information Center. It also was discovered that Reynolds, who was residing in Searcy, was “on probation for a previous charge out of Cleburne County” for child sexual abuse material and that “the email provided in the cybertip” was the same one Reynolds had provided for contact information to his probation officer, Ellis wrote.

A home visit with Arkansas Probation and Parole was conducted Nov. 22, and Reynolds reportedly made “several statements” about having images on his phone that they would not want to see.

After going voluntarily to the sheriff’s office to be interviewed, Reynolds reportedly “stated that he had knowingly sent and received sexual images of minors” and that “he received sexual gratification from the images.”

Ellis wrote that Reynolds “voluntarily opened his phone” to show him “a conversation containing several images of CSAM.” He was then arrested and a search warrant was issued for his “electronics and a digital extraction was completed.”

“Multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse material was located,” Ellis wrote.

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Habitual sex offender facing slate of charges

SEARCY — A warrant was issued last week for Michael Wayne Weatherly, 53, of Searcy on four counts of class C felony violation of the Sex and Child Offender Registration Act.

He has been charged as an habitual offender.

Weatherly, who is scheduled to appear in White County Circuit Court for plea and arraignment Tuesday, also was in custody Wednesday in the White County jail.

It was reported to the sheriff’s office Nov. 19 after a Department of Community Corrections office visit with Weatherly, a level 2 sex offender, that “Weatherly was in possession of several social media accounts on his TCL cell phone which had not been reported to his registry status.” The phone was seized and transferred ito the custody of the sheriff’s office, Detective Cpl. Misty Goss wrote.

Then, on Dec. 11, Goss was told “that records from Weatherly’s ankle monitor showed that he had not been at his registered address in Searcy” on Blair Street. The next day, Weatherly “was standing outside” the residence and fled on foot when a DCC officer arrived before returning “a few minutes later” to be arrested.

The manager of the property reportedly said the property had been sold and Weatherly had moved his possessions Dec. 7. Weatherly reportedly admitted during an interview at the sheriff’s office that he had been “’staying’ with friends and returning to Blair Street periodically to get property.” He had returned Dec. 12 to get his dog.

Asked about the social media accounts on his cell phone, Weatherly reportedly said that they were his but “he did not know he was to report them to his registry despite previously reporting an email account.”

After being reminded that he received paperwork “outlining the registry requirements,” he reportedly said that “he does not read his paperwork.”

A search warrant was obtained for Weatherly’s phone Dec. 13 and the extraction, completed Dec. 16, showed that the phone number was not the one he had registered at his last appointment and that the phone contained apps for WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger and TikTok, along with a local singles.com account.

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