Middletown man arrested in child pornography case after cybertip

A 20-year-old Middletown man was taken into custody after state police said a CyberTip triggered a child sexual exploitation investigation that led detectives to his home and then to the Orange County Jail.

New York State Police said the Troop F Computer Crimes Unit began investigating Alexis J. Rios Mendez on April 18, 2026, after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Investigators then worked with the Troop F Child Abuse Unit, State Police Middletown Barracks and the Federal Bureau of Investigation before executing a search warrant at his Middletown residence on May 1, 2026.

Rios Mendez was arrested the same day, and state police said he was arraigned at the Middletown City Court Central Arraignment Part. He was remanded to Orange County Jail pending a future court date. The case number released by state police is NY2600504975.

Authorities said Rios Mendez was charged with three counts of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child less than 16 years of age, possess or access, a class E felony, and three counts of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child less than 17 years of age, a class D felony. The charges are allegations that now move into the court process, where prosecutors will have to prove the case.

The arrest highlights how child-exploitation cases in Orange County increasingly start with digital reporting rather than a face-to-face complaint. NCMEC says its CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for suspected online child exploitation, and it received 20.5 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2024. In this case, that online pipeline led to a local search warrant, the seizure of evidence, and an arrest that now leaves a Middletown man facing six felony counts.

State police asked anyone with information about the case to contact State Police Middletown at (845) 344-5300. The investigation remains tied to the same digital evidence that brought it to law enforcement’s attention, and the next step will be the court proceedings now underway in Orange County.