ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky State Police report that an Estill County man was arrested and charged with child sexual exploitation offenses.
According to KSP, 25-year-old Austin Owens was interviewed on April 17 by the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch and was arrested in connection to a child sexual abuse material investigation.
KSP says the investigation began after they discovered that Owens was reportedly "uploading sexually explicit images of juveniles to one of his social media accounts."
As a result, KSP says a search warrant was executed at his residence in Irvine, and "equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized and taken to KSP's forensic laboratory for examination."
KSP reports that Owens is charged with 20 counts of possessing matter portraying a minor under the age of 12 in a sexual performance and one count of distributing matter portraying a minor under the age of 12 in a sexual performance.
Owens is booked in the Three Forks Regional Jail.
