Invictus Task Force Arrests Burlington Man on Child Exploitation Charges

Ahmad Masih Askaryar, 19, was taken into custody April 2 after Invictus Task Force investigators executed a search warrant at his Burlington residence, charging him with felony second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. A magistrate issued no bond. Askaryar was booked into the Alamance County Detention Center at 109 S. Maple Street in Graham and was scheduled to make his first appearance in Alamance County District Court on April 6.

The probe began in December 2025 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a CyberTip to the task force. Investigators spent the following months building the case that produced Wednesday's search warrant and arrest.

The single count against Askaryar falls under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-190.17, which covers recording, photographing, filming, or otherwise duplicating material that depicts a minor engaged in sexual activity. Second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class E felony, carrying a presumptive sentence of 20 to 25 months under the state's structured sentencing guidelines. Under the statute, a claim of mistake of age is not a valid defense.

The Invictus Task Force is a multi-agency coalition uniting the sheriff's offices of Randolph, Alamance, Davidson, and Forsyth counties with federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Ray Dawson, the coalition's founder and CEO, has been its public face at press events across the region.

The arrest brings the task force's cumulative total to 173 individuals since its founding. Its most recent large-scale operation, Ghost Wire, ran October 13 through October 24, 2025, combining CyberTip investigations with undercover chats in which officers posed as children between 12 and 14 years old. That operation produced 23 arrests and rescued four children from ongoing abuse. Sheriff Terry Johnson reported that 18 of those arrests occurred in Alamance County and that 14 of those arrested were county residents. Officials have also cited a 900% increase in CyberTips received by the task force.

The national picture reflects the same trajectory. NCMEC's CyberTipline received 20.5 million reports in 2024, encompassing nearly 63 million files. Online enticement reports alone surpassed 546,000, a roughly 193% increase over 2023, while reports involving generative AI technology surged 1,325% in the same year.

The Invictus Project, the nonprofit arm supporting the task force, held a community education event at Trailhead Church in Alamance County on January 20, 2026. Whitney Miller, the organization's vice president, warned parents about the accessibility online predators now have to children: "You don't have to knock on the door anymore."

Investigators say the Askaryar case remains active. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Alamance County Sheriff's Office Invictus Task Force.