Perry police detail group’s confrontation with fair vendor worker
Police say the group conducts its own online child predator investigations and had exchanged messages with Austin Robert Mullis before approaching him.
PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A group conducting its own online child predator investigations approached a Georgia National Fair vendor worker after exchanging electronic messages with him, leading him to run before Perry police intervened, according to the department.
Maj. Heath Dykes with the Perry Police Department says the independent, third-party group had been communicating with 38-year-old Austin Robert Mullis through emails and text messages. After learning Mullis was at the fair, members of the group went there to confront him Tuesday, October 13.
Austin Robert Mullis (Credit: Houston County Sheriff’s Office)
Dykes says Mullis ran when the group approached him. Police intervened, stopped everyone involved and gathered information. Everyone involved in the confrontation was criminally trespassed from the fairgrounds.
As 41NBC previously reported, Mullis was arrested Thursday following an investigation that developed after the confrontation. Police say evidence supporting the arrest was discovered during a court-authorized search of a cellphone.
Houston County jail records show Mullis was booked on a warrant charging him with computer or electronic pornography and child exploitation. Police say the charge involves sexually explicit electronic communications with someone believed to be a minor.
The department says the criminal charge concerns conduct separate from the confrontation at the fair. Police have also said the third-party organization is not affiliated with or authorized by law enforcement.
Dykes confirmed Mullis was working for a vendor at the fair, rather than being employed directly by the Georgia National Fair.
Dykes also says Mullis was out on bond in connection with an incident in Gwinnett County. He described the charges in that case as similar but could not confirm what they were.
The incident has raised concerns among fairgoers about child safety. Shalonda McHenry, Keenan Tillman and Cassie Rape shared their reactions to the confrontation and arrest, including concerns about protecting children and holding those responsible accountable.
Dykes encourages parents to monitor their children while attending the fair, use a buddy system and make sure children have identification with a parent’s phone number in case they become separated.
He also urges parents to pay attention to their children’s internet activity, including their use of cellphones, computers and other electronic devices.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
