“Sexual Exploitation” Charge For Ex-UNC Employee

ORANGE COUNTY – A former UNC employee who landed in hot water last year after officials found an illegal gun in his office has now received additional charges stemming from a child pornography investigation.

Charles Hitlin of Pittsboro has been charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Prosecutors say he used a UNC email account in November to distribute pornographic photos of an underage child.

Hitlin was first arrested in November for possession of a gun on school property, after officers from UNC’s Department of Public Safety discovered it while investigating the pornography charge. That investigation began after an undercover police officer engaged in an online chat with someone who claimed to have had sex with numerous underage kids; that person’s email was traced back to Hitlin’s campus computer.

Hitlin’s next court date is set for Thursday in Orange County. He’s also scheduled to appear in court on the weapons charge later this month.