Charles Salter indicted on child pornography counts
By Jennifer Horton, WSFA
Warning: this story contains graphic content and may not be suitable for all readers
Disturbing new details have surfaced in court records related to a Montgomery child pornography investigation.
Montgomery resident Charles Salter was arrested by the State Bureau of Investigation in 2018 during a national sting operation. He was charged with 10 counts of distribution of obscene material.
Nearly two years later, Salter is under federal indictment for possession and receipt of child pornography and awaiting trial behind bars.
Following a detention hearing, federal Judge Jerusha Adams issued an order stating there are no conditions for bond that would assure Salter wouldn’t be a danger to the community or a flight risk.
Investigators seized more than 20 devices containing pictures and videos of girls ages 4 through 12 in compromising positions, according to court records.
Those images were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children who identified more than 1,500 images with known victims.
Four-hundred pictures were found on Salter’s cell phone of fully clothed girls taken at a local restaurant and grocery store, apparently without their knowledge.
“A few images depicted two minor females, who were clothed, standing inside of a ladies’ restroom as the door was ajar,” Adams’ order stated. “All images appeared to be taken without the knowledge of the minors and were images of the groin, buttocks, or torso of these clothed, minor females.”
While serving the search warrant at Salter’s house, investigators found children’s underpants, duct tape, and child-size dolls, including some that were bound, in Salter’s room.
“According to law enforcement, after receiving his Miranda warnings, the defendant advised law enforcement that the images and items located in his bedroom were just part of his ‘fantasies,’” the order stated.
The judge indicated this evidence and Salter’s job, which is a traveling book salesman, pushed her to detain Salter until his trial in April. Salter has around four weeks to determine whether to plead guilty in this case.
Due to the federal indictment, the state is no longer pursuing Salter’s case
