A 23-year-old man from Barrow County has been charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office.
Lt. Scott Ware said investigators first became aware of Matthew Cody Smith's internet activity on January 31, 2019 during "Operation Interception," an effort to target child predators before and during the Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Ware said on that date, Smith initiated contact with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
"Smith’s intent was to engage in a sexual relationship with the victim in this case whom he believed to be a minor female," Ware said in a press statement. "Smith initiated contact again February 1, 2019 and then eleven (11) other times from May 15, 2019 until June 5, 2019."
On Thursday, June 6, investigators obtained a warrant for Smith's arrest on 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. He was arrested later in the day at a residence on Bird Hammond Road in Winder by the Hall County Sheriff's Office, the Barrow County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Internet Against Crimes Task Force.
Smith remained in the Hall County Jail with no bond at last report.
