Child Exploitation Sting Nets 31 Arrests In Georgia

GEORGIA -- A total of 82 people were arrested, 31 in Georgia, and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims during an eight-state child exploitation operation.

In Georgia, 31 people were arrested during Operation Southern Impact III and most those arrests involved the possession and/or distribution of child pornography. While investigators regularly target the trading of all types of child pornography, in Operation Southern Impact III investigators targeted those seeking out and distributing the most violent sexual abuse material involving infants and toddlers.

The possession, distribution and production of these horrific images is not uncommon, according to the GBI press release.

Seven of those arrested in Georgia traveled for the purpose of meeting and having sex with a minor. A goal of the operation was to arrest persons who communicate with children online and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. Online child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex, the GBI reported. The children these predators target are both boys and girls.

During the operation, four registered sex offenders were encountered and arrested in Georgia on charges related to child pornography. One of the registered sex offenders arrested during Operation Southern Impact III was initially arrested by the GBI during a very similar operation in 2015.

Additionally, officers across the state conducted searches and conducted warrant service on sex offenders that violated the terms of their supervision. As a result, 1,153 searches and 93 arrests were completed. Eight firearms, as well as ammunition, pornographic material, drugs, and drug paraphernalia, were located during the searches. Of those arrested, 32 were under supervision for a computer-related sex offense.

In Georgia, a total of 56 search warrants were executed and 41 knock and talks were conducted during Operation Southern Impact III. Law enforcement officers conducting the searches were looking for evidence of possession and distribution of child pornography using the internet as well as evidence of other child exploitation related crimes. Over the course of the operation, 305 digital devices were examined on site and 972 digital media and devices were seized as evidence. During these searches, illegal drugs and firearms were found as well.

Those arrested in Georgia were charged with crimes of Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007. Additional charges are likely and other arrests will occur after
analysis of seized digital devices.

Those in custody and charged in Georgia as part of Operation Southern Impact III are:

1. James Barfield IV, 51, Atlanta, GA, home improvement store employee
2. Dillan M. Bell, 26, Allenhurst, GA, unemployed
3. Gerald Chamberlain, 34, Rome, GA, golf course maintenance worker
4. Carol Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, county employee
5. Doug Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, department store employee
6. Timothy Wayne Diggs, 39, Metter, GA, information technology specialist
7. Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, GA, restaurant employee
8. Erick Noe Gonzalez, 26, Buford, GA, landscaper
9. Erik Gordon, 30, Morrow, GA, shipping company employee
10. Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, GA, staffing company employee
11. Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, GA, unemployed
12. Claude Martin Johnson IV, 21, Augusta, GA, unemployed
13. Andrew Kim, 30, Suwanee, GA, business owner
14. Jordan Logan, 33, Grovetown, GA, painter
15. Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, GA, railroad worker
16. Andrew J. Martz, 30, Tyrone, GA, student
17. Matthew James McDurmond, 26, Cedartown, unknown
18. Terry Menard, 61, Roswell, GA, multimedia designer
19. Daniel Joseph Mullinax, 35, Auburn, GA, unemployed
20. Justin Lee Myers, 22, Cleveland, GA, unknown
21. Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, GA, construction worker
22. Michael David Quinn, 44, Roswell, GA, unknown
23. Matthew Steven Ramski, 37, Cumming, GA, graphic design artist
24. Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, AL, fireman
25. Malchijah Robinson, 40, Decatur, GA, unemployed
26. David Chris Sammons, 33, Eatonton, GA, factory worker
27. Omar S. Sanchez-Viera, 40, Jonesboro, GA, health supplement company employee
28. Chad Sitzwohl, 35, Dawsonville, GA, factory worker
29. Wille D. Slaughter, 33, Valdosta, GA, military veteran
30. Wan Yeung Tang, 45, Cumming, GA, dishwasher
31. Tyler Wooten, 21, Sharpsburg, GA, student

The Georgia Child Exploitation And Computer Crimes Unit made 244 arrests in 2015. In 2016, the Georgia Task Force arrested 340 persons. In 2017, the Georgia Task Force arrested 350 people for crimes related on online child exploitation. In 2018, the Georgia Task Force made 307 arrests. The Georgia Task Force received almost 5,000 tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2018.

A total of 171 law enforcement agencies participated in this year's operation. The arrestees ranged in age from 20 to 70.

Some of their occupations included daycare administrator, youth group leader, former high school band director and freelance photographer. During the operation, 134 search warrants were executed and 215 knock and talks were conducted, where 861 digital devices were previewed and 1,613 digital devices were seized. Of those devices seized 203 were mobile phones.

Operation Southern Impact III, was coordinated by ten Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces and focused on persons who possess and distribute child pornography and those who are sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet. The planning for Operation Southern Impact III began approximately four months ago and culminated in three days of investigative actions to include search warrant executions, undercover operations, arrests and sex offender compliance verification visits in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

These investigative actions resulted from cybertips received by each Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and cases such as peer-to-peer investigations and on-line undercover investigations.

There were 22 internet safety presentations or related events held during the operation as well.