Child Sex Sting Busts Cartersville Man: Paulding Sheriff

PAULDING COUNTY, GA — A Cartersville man was arrested after attempting to have sex with an 8-year-old girl, according to a release from the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. Brian Travis Cowart, 34, was arrested on Nov. 1.

According to the release, the Juvenile Investigations Division got a complaint on Oct. 29 about a man on social media requesting to have sex with girls 5 to 10 years old. Two days later, an undercover agent made contact with Cowart, pretending to be an 8-year-old girls' older sister, the release says.

Cowart offered money to "perform sex acts" on the girl, the release says.

On Nov. 1, Cowart made a plan to meet the older sister at a retail store in Hiram where she would give the girl to Cowart for a period of time, the release says.

When Cowart arrived, detectives with the Juvenile Investigations Division were waiting in the parking lot and immediately took him into custody.

Cowart was charged with three felonies: criminal attempt to commit child molestation, criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes and violation of the Computer/Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act.

Cowart's being held at the Paulding County Jail without bond.

"As adults, it is our responsibility to keep children safe from online predators. I want to encourage all parents to keep an eye on your child’s online activities and know who they are communicating with at all times," said Sheriff Gary Gulledge.

Anybody who has had online contact with Cowart is encouraged to contact Lt. Starry Kilgore or Sgt. Lenny Carr of the Paulding County Sheriff's Office at 770-445-6105.