A youth chaplain at a Gastonia church who mentored Boy Scouts in south Charlotte was arrested Monday.
Charles Franklin Knight, 62, faces six counts of third-degree exploitation of a minor. He is in the Mecklenburg County Jail. No bond was available.
On July 2, a woman told Charlotte-Mecklenburg police that Knight had material depicting sex acts with youths under 18, according to a police report.
Investigators questioned Knight, who turned over some child pornography, which included “inappropriate Internet images,” the report said. Detectives also seized a laptop computer from his home on Harrowfield Drive in Charlotte.
Knight told police he worked with Boy Scouts in south Charlotte for years. He also co-coordinated a home-based youth program at Christ Church in Gastonia, said Brian Cornell, the pastor. The coed program, open to church members and Boy Scouts, helped parents teach their children to better understand what it means to be Christian.
Cornell was not sure how long Knight has been a member of the church. He told the Observer the church has a rule that there must always be two adults present during any interaction with children or minors and that church policies were followed.
“This reminds us that we're doing ministry to a world that's hurting,” Cornell said.
Police did not identify the south Charlotte church and Boy Scout troop Knight worked with in Charlotte.
“I can’t comment as much as I’d love to,” he said. "I’m a gentle person. After this is all over, I’ll answer any questions you have.”
A neighbor whose apartment is below Knight’s says a repairman made the discovery after being called to Knight’s home to fix an air conditioner. The woman says her boyfriend’s mother called police after the air conditioning unit in Knight's apartment began to leak into theirs.
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