RHEA COUNTY, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said a man who was first charged in an operation to identify child exploitation and sextortion survivors is facing new charges.
It said Cody Shane Gunter, 29, is facing three new counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. He was arrested in April during Operation Protecting Tomorrow, in which TBI agents worked to find children who were victims of sextortion and online sexual exploitation. He was charged with solicitation and sexual exploitation of a minor in that operation.
In a release, the TBI said agents found additional information that showed he was linked to the production of child sexual abuse material. The release said agents identified those children in July and charged him with the three new counts.
The TBI said Gunter turned himself in at the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, and he is being held there without bond.