B’ville man charged with crime against children
Chance Bailey
Chance Bailey, 20, of Batesville, is facing the charge of Child Exploitation after an investigation revealed tips from the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. There were two CyberTips generated by Synchronoss Technologies Inc. that were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). These tips were then forwarded to the Indiana State Police for investigation.
Synchronoss Technologies is a cloud-based storage provider for content stored on the Verizon Cloud.
According to the Probable Cause Affidavit filed in Ripley County Circuit Court, this investigation dated back to Bailey’s cloud account on June 18, 2025, and again on June 22, 2025.
The descriptions in the court documents are disturbing showing nude prepubescent females. Some were bound, others were in various sexual acts with other children, including a female infant. In one of the videos a juvenile female starts out being clothed, but undresses until she is fully naked. Another involved a female (nude) with a male.
Brian Earls, a detective with the Indiana State Police – Versailles Post, said during an interview with Bailey, he (Bailey) admitted to receiving and sending images/videos through the internet of child pornography. Bailey further said he saved and stored those images to his Verizon cloud account. He said he used the app Telegram on his cellphone to send and receive those images and videos. He told police he deleted his Telegram app and all the images and videos from his cellphone sometime in August of 2025.
A search warrant for Bailey’s phone was obtained. Sgt. Andrew Mitchell, a Digital Forensic Examiner, conducted the forensic examination of the cellphone. Sgt. Mitchell located internet searches inquiring the legal age of consent, will the legal age of consent change and what countries have the youngest legal age for sex.
The Probable Cause Affidavit states, “Sgt. Mitchell located a conversation on the cellphone from the app Snapchat. In that conversation Bailey and another person traded an image or video. Bailey had asked the other person, ‘Ok do u have any nude young ones.’ Sgt. Mitchell was able to confirm that Bailey had downloaded the app Telegram to his cellphone, but that app (Telegram) had been deleted.”
After a complete investigation a warrant was issued for the arrest of Bailey on December 18, 2025, and it was served the next day with Bailey being incarcerated at the Ripley County Jail. The charge of Child Exploitation is a Level 5 Felony.
Editor’s Note: The nature of this crime is cause for concern for parents whose children have unlimited access to cell phones and the various apps they can download. Parental control is advised. One app is BARK that parents can check out.
