Morganton man receives probation in child exploitation case

Frank Wayne Campbell, 67, of Morganton, avoided a total maximum sentence of 272 months, or about 22 years and eight months, of incarceration by pleading guilty to two counts of felony second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor on Tuesday.

He will instead serve 36 months of supervised probation.

As the judge reviewed his case, Campbell glanced around the room, running his fingers along the handcuffs and the connected chains that wrapped around his torso.

A pair of glasses stuck out of the breast pocket of his black-and-white striped uniform, and his balding scalp glistened between white, well-combed hair.

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office arrested Campbell on Oct. 31, 2025, following a cybertip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC is a nonprofit focused on finding missing children, reducing child sexual exploitation, and preventing child victimization.

Microsoft reported to the NCMEC that the 67-year-old had uploaded two pieces of child pornography to BingImage in an attempt to cultivate similar images from across the internet on two separate instances: Feb. 1 and March 16, 2025.

Material uploaded by Campbell depicted a minor female, between the ages of 10 and 14, “engaged in sexual activity.”

Officers at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) traced the IP addresses, or the unique numerical labels assigned to every device connected to a computer network, back to a residence in Morganton.

The SBI forwarded the information to the BCSO on April 3 and Oct. 6, 2025, where Detective Caleb Browning identified one of the email addresses and one of the phone numbers attached to the IP addresses as matches for Campbell.

Upon his arrest, Campbell received a $250,000 secured bond. A grand jury indicted him on Dec. 1.

His lawyer, Wayne Clontz, pointed out that Campbell had never been convicted of anything, and that it was rare to see a 67-year-old in superior court with no prior convictions.

“He apologizes to this community, to his family, (and) to himself,” Clontz said. “He says it will not happen again.”

The judge sentenced Campbell to 15-27 months of incarceration, which he suspended in lieu of 36 months of supervised probation.

Campbell must complete and comply with all other sex offender conditions, such as notifying the sheriff’s department of all residency changes, enrolling in satellite-based device monitoring, and registering as a sex offender for the next 30 years.

Campbell can petition to be removed from the registry in 10 years, if he qualifies. The failure to comply with certain stipulations in his plea agreement, such as notifying the sheriff’s office or registering as a sex offender, would result in additional felony charges.

As Campbell finished discussing his case with a probation officer, he hobbled out of the courtroom with his glasses on as he reviewed the paperwork he had just been handed.