Lake City, Georgia (January 18, 2019) –  On Thursday, January 17, 2019, Lake City Police Department Officer Jonathan Balsam, age 31, of Stockbridge, Georgia was charged with 1 count of obscene Internet contact with a child, 1 count of electronically furnishing obscene material to minors, and 2 counts of violation of oath by public officer after an investigation was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) into the possible sexual exploitation of children by Balsam via an online service.

Balsam is currently being held at the Clayton 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 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 pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about this case or any other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870.

Contact Information:

Nelly Miles - Public Affairs Director - 404/270-8330