Spalding County Registered Sex Offender Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Decatur, GA (January 19, 2021) – On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, Spalding County resident, Timothy Woodard, age 44, was charged with the Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material) in violation of O.C.G.A 16-12-100(b)(8) by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Woodard’s online activity after receiving multiple cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) indicating Woodard was uploading child sexual abuse material to a popular online platform. On Friday, January 19, 2021, agents from the GBI’s CEACC Unit, with assistance from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Community Supervision, executed a search warrant at the residence of Timothy Woodard. A search of Woodard’s residence by GBI Special Agents and electronic devices by GBI Digital Forensic Investigators produced evidence which led to the arrest of Woodard on the same date. Woodard was taken into custody and booked into the Spalding County Jail.

Timothy Woodard was previously arrested in 2016 and indicted in Henry County Superior Court on 23 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children for being in possession of child pornography material. In that case, Woodard pled guilty to a negotiated plea to two counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children and was sentenced to a total of 30 years with the first eight years to be served in confinement and the remainder to be served on probation. Woodard was released from prison on June 22, 2020 and placed on parole.

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 other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.