Child Sexual Exploitation Investigation Leads to Arrest in Savannah

Savannah, GA (May 27, 2020) – On Friday, May 22, 2020, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, assisted the Savannah Police Department's Special Victims Unit and active members of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the execution of a search warrant at the residence of Phillip Ryan Smart, 31, in Savannah, Chatham County, GA.

The search warrant was related to an investigation pertaining to the online sexual exploitation of children. As a result of the investigation, Smart was arrested and charged with Possession of Child Pornography by the Savannah Police Department.

Smart is currently being held at the Chatham County Detention Center.

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 and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870.