Three Middle Georgia Agencies Participate in State’s Largest Child Porn Bust

DECATUR, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Dozens of search warrants were served Wednesday as part of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s operation which targeted people involved in internet child porn trade.

According to a news release from the GBI, “Operation Guarding Innocence” was a three month long investigation which ran from January through March. The GBI coordinated the operation with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force as well as 50 teams across the state representing 47 federal, state, and local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Three Middle Georgia law enforcement agencies participated in the operation: the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, and the Warner Robins Police Department.

Captain Brad King from BCSO tells 41NBC they served one search warrant and one person was arrested. WRPD spokeswoman Tabitha Pugh says officers served two search warrants. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office served one search warrant.

Search warrants were executed in 37 counties and 98 suspects have been identified as distributing child porn over the internet. As of 6:30 p.m., there have been 73 search warrants executed and 41 arrests made in connection with this continuing operation.

The GBI says this is the largest operation of its kind in Georgia conducted by the state’s ICAC Task Force.