PRESS RELEASE
August 18, 2017
On August 1, 2017, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for an unknown adult male found inside of a Bedford County residence. The male had exited the home prior to arrival of Deputies and Investigators with the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (SOVA-ICAC). The suspect was located by Virginia Conservation Police soon after the call sitting in a vehicle in a school parking lot. He was identified as Michael Ian Bowser of Chesapeake, Virginia.
Michael Ian Bowser
Bowser was in possession of multiple firearms. Bowser was charged and arrested for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor and Carry of a Concealed Weapon. Through further investigations, it was determined that Bowser had traveled to Bedford County from Chesapeake to meet a 16-year-old Bedford County child he had met online. Multiple search warrants were executed to seize electronic devices found in Bowser’s possession. A complete Digital Evidence Exam was conducted on the electronic devices by the SOVA-ICAC Digital Evidence Recovery Unit. On August 7, 2017, eight felony warrants were obtained and served on Bowser; five counts of Possession of Child Pornography and three counts of Solicitation of a Minor to Produce Child Pornography. Bowser was held with no bond in the Blue Ridge Regional Jail.
Parents are encouraged to please talk with your children about internet safety and the dangers
of child predators.
The Virginia Conservation Police are an affiliate agency with the SOVA-ICAC. Bedford County
Sheriff’s Office is the managing agency of the SOVA-ICAC Task Force and has numerous
Investigators assigned full time.
