A local man was arrested Monday by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department for sexual battery and exploitation of a child, said Chief Deputy Shane Tucker.

Tucker said Joshua L. Landrum, 30, of 7382 U.S. Highway 11 in Carriere was charged with possession of precursor chemicals, sexual battery and exploitation of a child after the sheriff’s department received a complaint from an individual.

The investigation showed that while the individual was using Landrum’s phone to download an innocent image from the Internet, images of children in various states of undress and engaged in sexual acts were found on the device, Tucker said.

Based on the information gathered from the complainant, Tucker said, the sheriff’s department obtained a search warrant on Friday for the apartment Landrum was living in at the time. During the search, Landrum’s phone and other electronic storage devices were seized.

Tucker said precursor chemicals were also discovered during the search, leading to Landrum being arrested for possession of precursor chemicals on Friday.

On Monday, the sheriff’s department obtained another search warrant in order to view the contents of the phone and electronic storage devices seized during Friday’s search, Tucker said.

Tucker said they were able to verify the images described by the complainant existed on the device. He said they also found images of a 9-year-old female, who is the child of one of Landrum’s acquaintances.

As a result of the continued investigation, Landrum was additionally charged with sexual battery and exploitation of a child on Monday, Tucker said.

“There will be other charges forthcoming against this individual,” Tucker said. “There were many illicit photos of children contained on his phone.”

Landrum is currently being held at Pearl River County Detention Facility.