Macon man among 17 arrested in GBI child exploitation crackdown
A statewide investigation targeting online child exploitation has resulted in the arrest of 17 people, including a Macon man, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced on Tuesday.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A statewide investigation targeting online child exploitation has resulted in the arrest of 17 people, including a Macon man, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced on Tuesday.
“Operation Byte Down” was led by the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit in partnership with 33 other agencies within the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Investigators identified 13 children living in homes where online child sexual exploitation was happening. One suspect admitted to previous hands-on sexual offenses against a child.
During the operation, law enforcement agencies executed 30 residential search warrants across Georgia, seizing 361 electronic devices—including cell phones, computers, and hard drives. Digital forensic investigators examined 137 devices on-site, and authorities said additional arrests could follow once all seized materials are reviewed.
Among those arrested was 53-year-old Steven Ray Mendenhall of Macon, who was booked into the Bibb County Jail. Others facing charges of sexual exploitation of children and related offenses include:
- Kong Hon Yim, 63, Duluth – Gwinnett County Jail
- Ezequiel Ortiz, 30, Duluth – Gwinnett County Jail
- Jianglin Meng, 26, Norcross – Gwinnett County Jail
- Morgan Albright, 18, Winder – Barrow County Jail
- Steven Michael Yanizeski, 28, Evans – Columbia County Jail
- Chaunansheng Fu, 28, Doraville – DeKalb County Jail
- Elvis Beltran Pineda, 25, Alpharetta – Forsyth County Jail
- Richard Jason Lowery, 43, Augusta – Richmond County Jail
- Patrick Dulebohn, 43, Savannah – Chatham County Jail
- Dennis Farmer, 65, Tifton – Tift County Jail
- Christian Havanki, 29, Pooler – Chatham County Jail
- Thomas Walker, 37, Helen – White County Jail
- Derrick Long, 25, Kingsland – Camden County Jail
- Jonathan Sells, 39, Cleveland – White County Jail
- Todd Shelton, 61, Acworth – Cherokee County Jail
- Timothy Grimsley, 36, Tifton – Tift County Jail
Investigators say they used both proactive and reactive tactics to track suspects, including peer-to-peer file-sharing surveillance, undercover online chats, and CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Officials said these methods helped law enforcement target individuals distributing and producing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and those attempting to arrange meetings with minors.
The GBI and Georgia ICAC Task Force worked alongside multiple local, state, and federal agencies, including the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, U.S. Secret Service, and sheriff’s offices from 13 counties statewide.
The GBI encourages anyone with information about child exploitation cases to contact its Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at (404) 270-8870 or submit a tip via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online or through the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
