Sex offender found with hundreds of sexually explicit images of children in Gmail accounts, police say

The suspect allegedly admitted to detectives that he sought and downloaded the images from the dark web.
(FILE) Metro Nashville Police Department(WSMV)
Published: Jul. 30, 2024 at 6:51 PM CDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A registered sex offender is back behind bars after Google alerted officers to hundreds of sexually explicit images of children in two Gmail accounts, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said.

Google sent multiple tips to MNPD regarding two Gmail accounts that contained the images, which led to the arrest of 43-year-old Joshua Lesler.

Police said the Gmail accounts contained personal documents belonging to Lesler. He was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday during his sex offender registry annual check-in.

Lesler allegedly admitted to detectives that he sought and downloaded the images from the dark web. He’s charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and is currently jailed on a $100,000 bond.

More charges are expected in this case.