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An Avery County, N.C. man faces felony charges after a social media investigation. Elizabethton Police investigators charged Timothy Charles Rupard, 44, of Avery County, on Friday with sexual exploitation of a minor and simple possession of Schedule VI. Rupard was transported to the Elizabethton Police Department, where a post-arrest interview occurred. He was then transported to the Carter County Detention Center without incident.

The charges against Rupard stem from an investigation that began in August 2024, when an Elizabethton Police Department investigator received a message on an undercover social media account from a male subject soliciting sex from a 16-year-old female. During September, several additional messages were sent from the male, continuing the exploitation attempt. Rupard was arrested when he attempted to visit the 16-year-old.

Rupard was also charged with the following traffic offenses: stop sign violation, felony evading, unlawful passing of a vehicle in the opposite direction on the left, and reckless driving.

Rupard was released from jail after posting a $38,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court of Carter County on Nov. 18 to answer the charges.