GBI Makes Arrest in Lumpkin County Child Molestation Case

Dahlonega, GA (May 25, 2025)- The GBI has arrested and charged Andrew Howard Whaley, age 61, of Cumming, GA,for one count of aggravated child molestation, one count of child molestation, and one count of possession of child pornography in Lumpkin County. Whaley was also charged in Forsyth County, GA with six counts of creation of child pornography and thirteen counts of Eavesdropping/Surveillance.

On April 18, 2025, the GBI was requested to investigate a child molestation case involving Whaley, in Lumpkin County, GA. During the investigation, it was determined that Whaley was a former Boy Scout Leader and that he sexually abused a boy that he met during his time as a Scout Leader. The GBI and the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office executed search warrants at Whaley’s cabin and a business in Lumpkin County on May 16, 2025. Agents discovered evidence of child pornography during the execution of the search warrants. Further investigation led to the discovery of a hidden camera in a bathroom at Whaley’s home in Forsyth County that Whaley used to film minors.

On May 16, 2025, Whaley was arrested and booked into the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, where he remains incarcerated.

This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with additional information in the case may contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at 706-348-4866 or by contacting the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

Once the investigation is complete it will be turned over to the Enotah Circuit District Attorney’s Office and the Bell-Forsyth District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.