Atlanta, GA (August 10, 2023) – On Monday, August 7, 2023, The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit arrested and charged Zion Gilliard, age 26, of Fulton County, GA, with five counts of sexual exploitation of children (three counts of distribution of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography).   

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Gilliard in June 2023 after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Gilliard was found in Clayton County and arrested. GBI agents and digital forensic investigators executed a search warrant at his home in Fulton County for computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.  

Gilliard was taken to the Clayton County jail upon his arrest.   

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Georgia 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 these cases, or 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. 

Contact

Special Agent in Charge Brian Johnston