2 Arrested In Cherokee Child Exploitation Sting Operation

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA — Cherokee County Sheriff's detectives arrested two men, one of them a youth sports ref, after separate weeks-long sting operations into alleged child pornography and sexual exploitation of children. A release from the sheriff says Mark Andrade, of Dalton, and Brent Parton, of Canton, were arrested.

The release says Andrade, 26, was charged with electronically furnishing obscene material to a minor, sexual exploitation of a child and violating of the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Act.

Andrade thought he was talking to a 12-year-old girl online. He agreed to pay for a taxi for her to come to Dalton, so investigators got a warrant for his arrest.

When the taxi arrived, Andrade came out of his home to meet who he thought would be the 12-year-old girl. It turns out it was a fake taxi. "Andrade approached the vehicle and was taken into custody," the release says.

Parton, 38, was also accused of communicating with who he thought was a 12-year-old girl online. He was charged with two counts of obscene internet contact with children and sexual exploitation of children. Warrants for his arrest were secured and he was arrested at a traffic stop in Canton on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

Parton was an umpire with Dizzy Dean Baseball and a basketball referee for Cherokee County's parks and recreation league, according to a WSB report. Authorities waited until he finished reffing a basketball game and then pulled him over, the report says.