In July 2025, the Invictus Task Force began an investigation following a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During this investigation, Ballard Thomas Anderson Jr. was identified as a suspect.
On December 3, 2025, members of the Invictus Task Force, with assistance from the Guildford County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant. As a result, Ballard Thomas Anderson Jr., age 35 and from Randleman, was taken into custody on three counts of failing to register online identifiers. Anderson was transported to the Randolph County Detention Center where “the magistrate issued no bond and set a first appearance in Randolph County District Court for December 5, 2025.” The investigation is ongoing. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office or representatives of the Invictus Task Force.
Meanwhile, recent data shows that college readiness among high school students in Randolph County remains low across core subjects. For example, only about 16% of senior students taking the science portion of the ACT in local school districts were considered ready for college during the 2022-23 school year (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). Junior students showed similar results in science at around 14% (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). In reading, nearly one-quarter of seniors met college readiness benchmarks while just over one-fifth of juniors did so (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). Math readiness rates were lower: approximately 13% for seniors and about 10% for juniors (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/).
Anyone with further details related to Anderson’s case is encouraged to reach out to law enforcement officials involved in the ongoing investigation.
