Fannin County Man Arrested for Child Sexual Exploitation

Blue Ridge, GA (March 12, 2021) – On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, Nathaniel Frank Hodgdon, 27, of Blue Ridge, was arrested and charged with two counts of Distribution of Child Pornography. On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) and the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Hodgdon’s residence in Blue Ridge, Fannin County, GA. An investigation into Hodgdon’s internet activity by the GBI’s CEACC Unit began after a report was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to the possession of child pornography by Hodgdon via the internet. This investigation led to search warrants being executed at Hodgdon’s residence in Fannin County and at a residence in Cherokee County, GA. Hodgdon was booked into the Fannin County Jail. Hodgdon was employed with Blue Skies ABA at the time of his arrest. 

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 and the online sexual exploitation of children. 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. 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.