Gresham Man Indicted On Child Exploitation Charges (Photo) - 06/04/26

Gresham, Ore. — A Multnomah County Grand Jury has indicted an 18-year-old Gresham man on multiple felony charges following a child exploitation investigation conducted by the Gresham Police Department.

On April 15, 2026, detectives and members of the East Metro SWAT team served a search warrant at an apartment in the 19500 block of NE Halsey St. Investigators seized two cellular phones believed to belong to Tony Melnik, 18.

The investigation, led by Detective Brendan Walker, began after CyberTips were received from Discord, Kik and Meta through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The reports alleged Melnik uploaded child sexually abusive material, shared videos in private chats and attempted to lure a minor online.

Following the search warrant, Detective Walker obtained an additional warrant signed by a Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge authorizing a forensic examination of the seized devices.

Gresham Police Detective Long, who is assigned to the Northwest Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL), worked with Detective Wright to analyze evidence recovered from the devices. During that examination, investigators uncovered messages discussing plans to sexually abuse children in person.

The evidence was presented to a Multnomah County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment on April 23 charging Melnik with:

• Eight counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree
• Three counts of Attempted Using a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct
• One count of Online Sexual Corruption of a Child in the Second Degree

"Protecting children from online exploitation remains a top priority for the Gresham Police Department," said Chief Travis Gullberg. "This investigation demonstrates the impact of our community's investment in public safety through the Community Safety Levy. Because of that support, we were able to hire experienced investigators like Detective Brendan Walker, who joined our department with valuable investigative experience and immediately began working complex cases. The work of Detective Walker, Detective Long, Detective Wright and our law enforcement partners helped identify evidence that led to these serious charges. We are grateful to our community for providing the resources needed to protect children and hold offenders accountable."

The investigation remains ongoing.

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