SALISBURY — Charges against a Rowan County man accused of sexual child exploitation have been dropped.

In a situation that might be described as a case of mistaken identity, after arresting Christian Salazar, 30, last month, authorities have dropped all charges against him. 

A Rowan County Sheriff’s Office captain confirmed that Salazar, who was arrested on March 16, no longer faces any charges stemming from the investigation. 

However, authorities are now exploring the possibility that the person of interest in the case may share Salazar’s name and also may be related to him. 

“The Salisbury Police Department reached out to us and said they had a video of two juveniles engaging in intercourse, and that appeared to be sent from WhatsApp,” said Capt. Mark McDaniel, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office public information officer. 

WhatsApp is an instant messaging platform used on cellular devices.

“They linked it to (Salazar’s) phone somehow, which is why he was initially arrested, based on the information that Salisbury had provided,” McDaniel said. “When they actually got his phone, they determined that, apparently, he and his cousin (the other Salazar), at one point, lived at the same address in the city (on Imperial Drive). When they got to looking into it, our guy that we actually charged had moved to a county address.”

A Rowan County detective reportedly obtained a search warrant for Salazar’s home in the county, seized items and took Salazar into custody. For the arrest to be completed, a Rowan County magistrate determined that enough evidence was available to bring about the initial charge and arrest Salazar. 

However, as the investigation unfolded, no digital evidence was discovered on Salazar’s device that implicated him in the crime. 

“I was kind of confused as to why we arrested and charged the guy, then went through his phones, found no evidence and had to let him go,” McDaniel said. “They interviewed him. He denied it. They presented what they had to a magistrate, and the magistrate issued probable cause to issue the warrant.”

According to McDaniel, similar names could be the culprit. 

“I could see where kin people who lived in the same residence with almost the exact same name, except maybe a middle name being different, how that could be mixed up,” McDaniel said. 

According to Lt. Justin Crews, public information officer at the Salisbury Police Department, the initial investigation that Salisbury officers were conducting led them to a Christian Salazar as a person of interest. Crews confirmed that additional information pointed to Salazar moving to a county residence, so the investigation was handed over to the sheriff’s office. 

“That’s why we transferred it to them,” Crews said. “They looked at it and determined to take charges out on him. From my understanding, they did a search warrant on his house … there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him, so that is why they dropped the charges.” 

Since the charges have been dropped, the case has pivoted back to the SPD. Investigators served a search warrant of the former address on Imperial Drive that came up during the initial investigation. 

“We did a search warrant on Imperial Drive and came into contact with another Christian Salazar,” Crews said. “Apparently, they are cousins.” 

Crews also said that investigators are examining digital evidence obtained during the second search warrant, but that remains under investigation. However, no additional arrests have been made. 

The Rowan County District Attorney’s Office and the defense attorney representing the Salazar who was initially arrested had yet to respond to requests for comment by the deadline for this edition.