Fundamentalist Christian and self-proclaimed founder of the “Biblical Flat Earth Society,” Phillip Stephen Stallings, was arrested this week and charged with 56 counts of child sexual exploitation, as reported by local news station WTDV.
The 40-year-old Durham, North Carolina resident is facing dozens of charges for sexually exploiting minors for allegedly downloading media that involved minors engaged in sexual situations and sharing this illegal media on social platforms.
He was arrested on Wednesday morning at his home by Durham County deputies as a part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation, according to WRAL.com.
“It’s part of an investigation across the nation right now for possession of child pornography and creation of child pornography,” said Durham County Assistant District Attorney Kendra Montgomery-Blinn during a short court hearing on Thursday morning. “They had information that Mr. Stallings was sharing his materials on a social media platform.”
Stallings faces 28 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 28 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor after being caught with child pornography. He has also been served with a warrant related to both cyberstalking and financial card theft.