MEDIA RELEASE / WRGA
According to a news release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a total of 82 people were arrested, and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims during a mutually coordinated operation between eight southeastern states.
The joint, proactive operation, Operation Southern Impact III, was coordinated by ten Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces in those eight states and focused on persons who possess and distribute child pornography and those who are sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet.
These investigative actions resulted from both reactive cases such as cybertips received by each ICAC Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and proactive cases such as peer-to-peer investigations and proactive, on-line undercover investigations.
Floyd County Police arrested several men as part of the operation.
Most of those are accused of traveling to an undisclosed location in Floyd County for the purpose of having sexual contact with someone they believed to be a minor.
Those arrested on Tuesday were:
Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, GA, construction worker – charged with aggravated child molestation, obscene internet contact with a child, and sexual exploitation of a child.
According to police, Nelson fled and was involved in a pursuit that began in Floyd County. He was apprehended in Walker County his vehicle flipped after the tires deflated from spike strips that were deployed in Chattooga County.
Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, GA, railroad worker – charged with aggravated child molestation, obscene internet contact with a child, and sexual exploitation of a child.
Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, GA, staffing company employee – charged with aggravated child molestation, obscene internet contact with a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and enticing a child for indecent purposes.
Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, GA, unemployed – charged with aggravated child molestation, obscene internet contact with a child, and sexual exploitation of a child.
Arrested Wednesday:
Gerald Cody Chamberlain, 34, Rome, GA, golf course maintenance worker – charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug-related objects and a probation violation.
Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, GA, restaurant employee – charged with aggravated child molestation; obscene internet contact with a child; sexual exploitation of a child; and using a computer service to seduce, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act.
Arrested Thursday:
Adam Tyler Ware, 20, Resaca, Ga – charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes; aggravated child molestation; obscene internet contact with a child; and use of a computer service to seduce, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act.
Jimmy Melquicedec Abadio Lopez, 28, Rome, Ga – charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes; child molestation; obscene internet contact with a child; and use of a computer service to seduce, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act; and four counts of felony obstruction of officers.
Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, AL, fireman – charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes; aggravated child molestation; obscene internet contact with a child; use of a computer service to seduce, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act; and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Matthew James McDurmond, 26, Cedartown, Ga – charged with 12 counts of computer pornography.
The GBI says during Operation Southern Impact III, the investigations related to 248 cybertips were progressed through the execution of these search warrants and knock and talks, and through the seizure of digital devices which will be forensically processed in the coming weeks. There were 22 internet safety presentations or related events held during the operation as well.
The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 230+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices.
They made 244 arrests in 2015. In 2016, the Georgia ICAC Task Force arrested 340 persons. In 2017, the Georgia ICAC Task Force arrested 350 people for crimes related on online child exploitation. In 2018, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 307 arrests. The Georgia ICAC TF received almost 5,000 tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2018.