EPWORTH, GA - On Tuesday, September 21, 2010, Special Agents with the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) along with members of the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the residence of Chris Welch, 777 Hamby Road in Epworth, Georgia.  This warrant was executed based on a Peer to Peer investigation in which the IP address associated with this location was observed sharing images of suspected or known child pornography. 

During the execution of the search warrant, fifty-two (52) images and/or movie files of child pornography were located.  Welch, 20, was arrested for possession of child pornography and transported to the Fannin County Jail.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the CEACC, to identify those involved in the child porn 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 pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

In 2008, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 109 arrests and in 2009 made 164 arrests. Through July of this year, the Task Force has made 112 arrests.

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Contact Information:

John Bankhead - 404-270-8330

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