KNOXVILLE — A homeless man wanted for allegedly possessing hundreds of images of child pornography was captured at a shuttered motel in West Knoxville on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Joshua David Lesler, 33, was arrested about 2 p.m. when the Knoxville Police Department’s Special Operations Squad converged on him at the former Magnuson Motel, across from West Town Mall on Kingston Pike, according to KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
Lesler was wanted on a 46-count indictment for sexual exploitation of minor, and has been the target of an investigation by KPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
After obtaining a search warrant, ICAC investigators allegedly found 357 images and 43 videos during a forensic exam of Lesler’s cellphone.
“The images and videos depicted prepubescent children and infants being raped and also included sadistic and masochistic images, along with bestiality involving children,” according to DeBusk.
At the time of his arrest, Lesler was attempting to regain custody of his 6-month-old daughter, who currently is in state custody, Debusk added.
Lesler is being held in lieu of $500,000 at the Knox County Detention Facility.