CHAPEL HILL – Charged with 47 separate counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, Charles Hitlin, a former UNC employee, was arrested at his home in Pittsboro on Monday.

“Chatham County Sheriff’s officers arrested Mr. Charles Hitlin just before 10:30 Monday night on warrants that were issued by our department, UNC Public Safety,” Information Specialist Randy Young says.

Hitlin, who worked in UNC’s School of Public Health, was placed in the Chatham County Jail with a $250,000 secured bond. His first court appearance is at 2 p.m. today at the Orange County Court House.

The investigation that led to Hitlin’s arrest was executed by an extensive joint task force put together by ICAC, or Internet Crimes against Children.

“We (are) in it; I believe the SBI is a part of it; Morrisville’s in it,” Young says. “So, there’s a number of different agencies in the area that form this joint operations task force.”

Hitlin was first arrested in November 2012 after police found a gun in his campus office. However, Randy Young explains that the gun was simply a by-product of search warrants conducted. Hitlin received charges last month with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor using a UNC email account before the most recent accusations.

Young says that no further information is available, as the investigation is still on-going. – See more at: https://chapelboro.com/Former-UNC-Employee-Charged-With-47-Counts-Of-Sexu/15582601#sthash.NmtvFVK8.dpuf