Oconee County Man Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Watkinsville, GA (November 9, 2023) – On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged Gerald Glen Fleming, age 74, of Oconee County, Georgia, with ten counts of sexual exploitation of children.  

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Fleming’s online activity after receiving a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. This investigation led to a search warrant executed at Fleming’s Oconee County home on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. During the search numerous electronic devices were seized and processed on scene by GBI digital forensic investigators. The search revealed evidence that Fleming possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material. The GBI CEACC Unit was assisted by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.  

Fleming was arrested and booked into the Oconee County jail.     

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material. 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.