SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED
July 16, 2025
Hillsborough, NC (July 16, 2025) – Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) arrested Daniel Cody Wright, 34, today and charged him with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a class E felony, and three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation, a class H felony. Wright, an Orange County resident with a Durham address, registered as a sex-offender in September 2024, as required by law, after serving a fifteen-month prison sentence in another state for similar crimes.
Second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor occurs when someone duplicates, distributes, sells, purchases, transports, solicits, or otherwise exchanges material containing a visual representation of a minor engaged in sexual activity. Third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor involves possessing such material.
After receiving an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) tip from the State Bureau of Investigation, ICAC task force members with the OCSO began working this case several weeks ago, developing probable cause for the arrest. After taking Wright into custody this morning, investigators served a search warrant authorizing them to collect electronic devices from his residence. After authorities analyze those devices, investigators may file additional charges against Wright.
After arresting Wright, Sergeant K. Goodwin, the lead investigator, took him to the magistrate’s office for processing. The magistrate ordered Wright confined in the Orange County Detention center under a $25,000 secured bond and scheduled his first court appearance for tomorrow, July 17, 2025, at 2:00 pm.
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