Oglethorpe County Man Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Lexington, GA (April 26, 2021) – On Wednesday, April 21, 2021, Oglethorpe County resident, James Smith, age 26, was charged with two counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Distribution of Child Pornography) by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Smith’s online activity after receiving a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online possession of images depicting child pornography. This investigation led to a search warrant at Smith’s home in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, and the subsequent arrest of Smith on April 21, 2021. The GBI CEACC Unit was assisted in the execution of their search warrant by the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office and the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office.

Smith was booked into the Oglethorpe 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 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.