Statewide raids target 55 child porn suspects

DECATUR - As a result of a 5-month investigation coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, search warrants were executed Tuesday in 40 Georgia counties - including Gwinnett and Forsyth - in connection with the distribution of child porn over the Internet.

Known as "Operation Innocent Justice", the state-wide endeavor included 27 local agencies,five Federal Agencies (FBI, ICE, the U. S. Secret Service, the U. S. Marshals Service and U. S. Postal Service), the three U. S. Attorneys' Offices in Georgia (Northern, Middle and Southern Districts) and the Georgia Attorney General's Office.

The agencies participating in Operation Innocent Justice along with the GBI are as follows:

1) United States Secret Service
2) United States Postal Inspection Service
3) Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
4) Federal Bureau of Investigation
5) United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia
6) United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Georgia
7) United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Georgia
8) United States Marshals Service
9) State of Georgia Attorney General's Office
10) Adel Police Department
11) Atlanta Police Department
12) Carrollton Police Department
13) Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
14) Cobb County Police Department
15) Columbia County Sheriff's Office
16) DeKalb County Police Department
17) Douglas County Sheriff's Office
18) Douglasville Police Department
19) Fayette County Sheriff's Office
20) Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
21) Glynn County Police Department
22) Gwinnett County Police Department
23) Henry County Police Department
24) Houston County Sheriff's Office
25) Kingsland Police Department
26) Lagrange Police Department
27) Liberty County Sheriff's Office
28) Newton County Sheriff's Office
29) Paulding County Sheriff's Office
30) Richmond County Sheriff's Office
31) Roswell Police Department
32) Sandy Springs Police Department
33) Smyrna Police Department
34) Villa Rica Police Department
35) Walton County Sheriff's Office
36) Warner Robins Police Department

This operation, which began in October of 2010, centered on the ability of GBI agents assigned to the ICAC Task Force to detect specific child porn images being shared over the Internet. Fifty-five suspects have been identified as distributing child porn over the Internet and were targeted for search warrants in Tuesday's operation.