Former Guilford County teacher faces 20 child exploitation charges

A former sixth-grade teacher at Vandalia Christian School in Guilford County now faces 20 felony counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, deepening a case that began with a February arrest and has drawn renewed attention to how online child exploitation cases are detected and pursued in Guilford County.

Richard Lynn Upright of Pleasant Garden was first arrested on Feb. 27, 2026, on 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Search warrants were executed that day at Upright’s home and at Vandalia Christian School in Greensboro, where he had worked as a teacher. School officials terminated him after the arrest and said they were cooperating with investigators.

Court testimony in the case has described a broader digital trail. A detective said investigators identified 111 confirmed images of child sexual abuse material tied to Upright across seven cyber tips submitted by Google to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Those tips were routed through the CyberTipline, the centralized reporting system that NCMEC uses to receive suspected online child sexual exploitation reports and pass them to law enforcement for review and investigation.

On May 12, 2026, Upright was reported to face at least 20 charges, and a $27 million secured bond was set. That came after a Guilford County judge had previously set a $750,000 secured bond on March 2, 2026. Earlier reporting also said Upright had been held at the Guilford County Detention Center without bond after the initial arrest.

North Carolina classifies second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor as a Class E felony. State law covers conduct that includes recording, photographing, filming, developing or duplicating material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaged in sexual activity. In cases like this one, investigators rely heavily on digital evidence, platform reporting and coordinated work between service providers and law enforcement.

The Guilford County case shows how those systems are supposed to function when a report surfaces online. Digital platforms can flag suspicious material, NCMEC can route it to investigators, and local detectives can then seek warrants, seize devices and build a case around confirmed images and related evidence. For families and residents, the reporting path runs through NCMEC’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement, including the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, when suspicious online sexual exploitation comes to light.