Police Officer Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Bluffton, GA (November 23, 2022) – On Monday, November 21, 2022, Robert Tyler Vaughn, age 26, of Clay County, Georgia, was arrested and charged in both Clay and Early Counties with one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children and one count of Violation of Oath of Office by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Vaughn’s online activity after receiving numerous Cybertip Reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the possible online possession of child sexual abuse material.  This investigation led to a search of Vaughn’s home and his subsequent arrest.  Vaughn was employed as a police officer with the Blakely Police Department at the time of his arrest.  The Clay County Sheriff’s Office & the Blakely Police Department aided the GBI CEACC unit with the search of Vaughn’s home and with his arrest.

Additional charges may be pending.

Vaughn was taken to the Randolph County Jail upon his arrest, where Clay County inmates are housed.

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 trade of child sexual abuse material. 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 Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.

Anonymous 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.