The Hall County Sheriff's Office arrested a Flowery Branch man Monday for allegedly sharing and possessing child pornography.
According to a press release from the agency, Jason Hunter McAuley, 30, remained in the Hall County Jail without bond as of Tuesday afternoon.
The investigation began after authorities received a cybertip in Oct. 2021, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip indicated someone had shared a photo of child pornography over an instant messaging platform on July 31, 2021. Hall County Sheriff's Office Investigators were able to determine the photo had been shared from a home on New Fern Lane in Flowery Branch.
Investigators interviewed McAuley and seized his cell phone for forensic processing. The processing was completed on Jan. 4, 2023. One image of child pornography was found on the phone.
McAuley was charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor -- two of the charges from the possession and distribution of the still image in July 2021, and the third from the possession of the image discovered on his phone during forensic processing.
