Two Columbus Men Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children 

Columbus, GA (February 14, 2023) – On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit executed two search warrants regarding separate child exploitation investigations. Frank Robbins, Jr., age 43, was arrested and charged with three counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Calvin Mitchum, age 30, was arrested and charged with four counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, Distribution of CSAM.

The GBI CEACC Unit, host agency for the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children’s (ICAC) Task Force, initiated two separate investigations into the internet activity of Robbins and Mitchum. Both investigations were a result of GBI CEACC agents receiving cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving CSAM. Digital forensic investigators assigned to the GBI CEACC Unit examined numerous electronic devices during the searches, resulting in the arrests. The Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, who are active GA ICAC Task Force affiliates, aided in the search warrants and subsequent arrests. Both Robbins and Mitchum were taken to the Muscogee County jail.

Both investigations are part of the ongoing effort by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade. The ICAC Program, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.