A Durham, NC man, 40, was charged with 56 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor after a joint investigation between the Durham County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Phillip Stephen Stallings was charged with on 28 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 28 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the officials at the sheriff’s office.
Arrest warrants show that Stalling duplicated and possessed images of minors performing sexual activities. He was found with a computer full of downloaded media showing minors involved in sex acts, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ann Marie Breen told The News and Observer.
The arrest was in conjunction with of a wider investigation that the Department of Homeland Security is conducting on internet child pornography.
Stallings was also served with outstanding warrants on allegations of financial card theft and cyberstalking, which he had avoided to date.
At his first court appearance on Thursday, the judge set Stallings’ bail at $500,000 secured.
Stallings has a substantial following of 6000 on a YouTube channel with videos about flat earth theory. His website states that he is the founder of the Biblical Flat Earth Society.
Screen grab from Stallings’ website
Stallings further describes himself as “a reformed Christian Apologist, Theonomist, Kinist and a former seminary student.”
At least one Reddit thread also suggests that flat earthers are involved in teen porn, though these allegations have not been substantiated.
