26 people were recently arrested on child pornography-related charges across the state of Georgia, including several in the northeast Georgia area.
According to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the 26 suspects were arrested over 11 days in an operation known as "Operation Sneaky Peach."
The statewide, multi-jurisdictional effort worked to identify and arrest suspects in technology-facilitated crimes against children. The operation involved three months of planning.
"Proactive investigations consisted of targeting peer-to-peer network users sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material, commonly known as child pornography, and undercover chat investigations targeting those that communicate with and arrange to meet what is believed to be a child for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts," the press release reads. "Reactive investigations consisted of working CyberTips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that involved the possession, distribution, and/or manufacturing of CSAM."
Law enforcement agencies executed 34 residential search warrants and three additional enforcement actions in 28 counties across Georgia. Digital forensic investigators previewed 296 electronic devices on scene and seized 281 electronic devices.
Operation Sneaky Peach found 26 children who were living in homes where online child sexual exploitation was occurring. Four arrested also admitted to current or prior hands-on sexual offenses against a child.
Those arrested in the northeast Georgia area included the following:
- William Ellis, 33, of Cleveland (White County)
- Russell Summerville, 38, of Athens (Clarke County)
- Douglas Strong, 64, of Auburn (Barrow County)
- Bennie House, 35, of East Ellijay (Gilmer County)
- Paul Angel, 70, of Danielsville (Madison County)
- Trent Bailey, 33, of Hartwell (Hart County)
- Jesse Kelley, 31, of Talking Rock (Pickens County)
- David Latta, 52, of Lawrenceville (Gwinnett County)
The following people were arrested elsewhere in the state:
- Randy Ho, 22, of Forest Park (Clayton County)
- Jeffery Lynn, 51, of Rossville (Walker County)
- Michael Beane, 58, of Waycross (Ware County)
- James Lail, 48, of Macon (Jones County)
- Jeremy Gunn, 33, of Fayetteville (Fayette County)
- Thaddeus Anderson, 34, of Canton (Cherokee County)
- Jimmy Evans, 65, of Milledgeville (Baldwin County)
- Brian Jones, 38, of Roopville (Heard County)
- Ethan Cook,18, of Canton (Cherokee County)
- Carl Hill, 42, of Cartersville (Bartow County)
- Damian Wright, 22, of Acworth (Bartow County)
- Dustin Bohrer, 39, of St. Simons Island (Glynn County)
- Carey William Wiley Lewis, 35, of Savannah (Chatham County)
- Christopher Williams, 37, of Hinesville (Liberty County)
- Kieran Michael O’Connor, 31, of Hinesville (Liberty County)
- Trevious Murrell, 35, of Americus (Sumter County)
- Zachary Mitchell Allen, 40, of Decatur (DeKalb County)
In addition to those listed, one offender was a minor and was served with a juvenile complaint.
More arrests may be forthcoming once forensic processing of the seized electronic devices is completed.
The following Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force affiliate agencies participated in the operation:
- Athens-Clarke County Police Department
- Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
- Bartow County Sheriff’s Office
- Bryan County Sheriff’s Office
- Candler County Sheriff’s Office
- Camden County Sheriff’s Office
- Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
- Fayette County Sheriff’s Office
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- Georgia State Patrol
- Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office
- Gwinnett County Police Department
- Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office
- Hall County Sheriff’s Office
- Heard County Sheriff’s Office
- Homeland Security Investigations
- Houston County Sheriff’s Office
- Jones County Sheriff’s Office
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service
- Polk County Police Department
- Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
- Rincon Police Department
- St. Mary’s Police Department
- United States Secret Service
"This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed within the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the trading of Child Sexual Abuse Material," the press release said. "The ICAC Program, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of CSAM and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims."
Anyone with information about these cases, or other cases of child exploitation, is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at (404) 270-8870.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1 (800) 597-8477, online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
