Child Sexual Exploitation Investigation Leads to Arrest in Columbia County

Appling, GA (June 8, 2020) – On Friday, June 5, 2020, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, assisted by the Thomson Regional Office of the GBI, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, executed multiple search warrants in Columbia and Richmond counties including one at the home of Mark Christopher Greene, 44, in Appling, Columbia County, GA.

The search warrants were related to an investigation pertaining to the online sexual exploitation of children. The investigation began after receiving multiple cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to child sexual abuse images. As a result of the investigation, Greene was arrested and charged with 3 counts of possession of child pornography and 3 counts of distribution of child pornography. Additional charges may be forthcoming. Greene was booked into the Columbia 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 and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870.