Clayton County, GA (August 4, 2020) – Last week, a total of 10 people were arrested, and at least five children were identified as prior victims during a four day coordinated effort between the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, the GBI’s Special Enforcement Team (SET), and the Clayton County Police Department. As part of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the agencies partnered to investigate numerous cybertips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Those cybertips involved the possession and/or distribution of explicit child sexual abuse images, commonly referred to as child pornography, that resolved to Clayton County. The planning for this operation began approximately four months ago and culminated in four days of investigative actions to include search warrant executions, knock and talks, interviews, data and image analysis, digital forensic processing, and arrests. Those arrested were charged with crimes pursuant to O.C.G.A. 16-12-100, Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007. Additional charges are likely and other arrests will occur after analysis of seized digital devices.

The arrestees ranged in age from 19 to 64. At least two arrestees had been previously accused of child molestation and at least one arrestee had been questioned before related to possession of child pornography. During the effort, 17 search warrants were executed and 15 knock and talks were conducted. During those search warrants and knock and talks, 130 digital devices were previewed and over 30 of those digital devices were seized as evidence. At least one additional arrest occurred based on the discovery of illegal narcotics.

The joint effort focused on persons who possess and distribute child sexual abuse images and those who are sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet. The GBI, which manages and coordinates the Georgia ICAC Task Force, received over 7,000 cybertips in 2019. Through just June of 2020, the Georgia ICAC Task Force has received close to 6,000 cybertips. Cybertips continue to increase exponentially. These cybertips most often involve horrific child sexual abuse images and videos involving children of all ages, including very young children, but also can involve the online enticement of children and child sex trafficking. These cybertips often lead investigators to children that are being sexually abused. There is a known statistical correlation between those who are seeking, collecting, and viewing child sexual abuse material and those that have sexually abused children or are actively sexually abusing children. To date in 2020, the Georgia ICAC Task Force has found almost 60 children living with offenders who are viewing child pornography and identified at least 20 of them as victims of sexual abuse by those offenders as a result of investigating a cybertip from NCMEC. During this effort, there were seven children found living with those who possessed and/or distributed child pornography.

The Georgia ICAC Task Force consistently finds this type of content. GBI’s CEACC Unit Special Agent in Charge and Commander of the Georgia ICAC Task Force, Debbie Garner, stated that “the dedicated law enforcement professionals that are part of the Georgia ICAC Task Force will not cease searching for those who are producing, trading and collecting this graphic material. We will continue to work together to find, investigate and prosecute these predators.”

Clayton County Police Department Chief Kevin Roberts expressed that “because these predators exist, it is most important that we take opportunities to partner with other law enforcement agencies for the betterment of our communities and for the protection of our children. We thank the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s ICAC Task Force for their ceaseless efforts to proactively pursue these predators and providing the Clayton County Police Department with the ability to participate in the fight to keep our children’s innocence.”

In addition to those agencies involved in the planning of the operation, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, Forest Park Police Department, Jonesboro Police Department, Lake City Police Department, Lovejoy Police Department, Morrow Police Department, and Riverdale Police Department all assisted during various aspects of this effort.

Those arrested and charged in Clayton County are:

  1. Geré Patrick Beasley, 19, student
  2. Isaiah Edwards, 22, restaurant employee
  3. Gabriel Fuentes-Arambula, 41, unemployed
  4. Greyson Grant, 23, student
  5. Robert Jump, 55, unemployed
  6. William Moran, 64, unemployed
  7. Luis Alfredo Merida Ortiz, 26, restaurant employee
  8. Kevin Pineda, 24, warehouse worker
  9. Jumah Travers, 32, unemployed
  10. Rico Williams, 21, unemployed 

The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 250+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices.  The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U.S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims. By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level.

The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 350 arrests in 2017. In 2018, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 307 arrests.  In 2019, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 474 arrests.

Contact

Special Agent in Charge Debbie Garner

[email protected]