Cary man faces new 'sexting' charge

Joshua Parker Wheeless, 28, of 1212 Wicklow Drive, was back in the Wake County jail Monday under a $250,000 bond. He had been released after his first arrest after posting a $250,000 bond.

Wheeless faces one count each of first-degree and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Capt. Don Hamilton, head of investigations for the Cary Police Department, said the new charges resulted from items discovered during police searches of Wheeless' computer and cellphone.

The first-degree exploitation charge involves the same 16-year-old girl whom Wheeless is accused of "sexting" this summer, Hamilton said. The July case also resulted in a charge of first-degree charge of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The second-degree exploitation charge involves downloading an explicit photo of an unknown teenage girl off the Internet, Hamilton said.

Wheeless works as a door-to-door salesman, investigators said, and according to a cached version of its website, he was once a minister of youth and outreach for Landmark Freewill Baptist Church in Cary.

The website also says the married father of three girls also graduated from Southeastern Free Will Baptist College in 2011 with a degree in pastoral theology and practical ministry.

Lynette Gaynor, a spokeswoman for the college, however, said Tuesday that Wheeless attended the school but never graduated.