Man Arrested for Sexual Exploitation of Children

Decatur, GA (May 26, 2022) – On Friday, May 20, 2022, Geoffrey Jerome Heine, age 29, previously of Conyers, GA, and currently residing in Virginia Beach, VA, was arrested by the Virginia Beach Police Department on behalf of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Heine’s online activity after receiving multiple cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online possession of images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The investigation led to a search warrant at Heine’s residence in Conyers, GA, where electronic devices were seized for forensic processing.  Evidence obtained from Heine’s devices led to the obtaining of five arrest warrants for Heine, for the Sexual Exploitation of Children. By the time the arrest warrants were obtained for Heine, he had relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. The arrest warrants were provided to the Virginia Beach Police Department, who took Heine into custody and transported him to Virginia Beach Correctional. Heine is currently awaiting extradition to Georgia.

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 sexual abuse material, 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.