Toombs County Man arrested for sexual exploitation of children

VIDALIA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A Toombs County man was arrested and charged in connection to sexual exploitation of children on Thursday, March 23rd.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Joseph Prater was arrested and charged by the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit. (CEACC)

Investigation into Prater began after the CEACC received a CyberTipline report concerning possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. This investigation led to a search warrant of Prater’s home and his arrest– afterwards Prater was taken to the Toombs County jail.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, used to identify those involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material in response to the increasing number of children and teens using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.