Banks County Man Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

PRESS RELEASE – On Sunday, April 30, 2023, Steven Kyle Caudell, age 34, of Banks County, Georgia, was arrested on 9 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children after an investigation conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.

The investigation began after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Caudell’s internet activity related to him possessing child sexual abuse material.

During the investigation, GBI agents seized an electronic device belonging to Caudell.

The device was later forensically processed by GBI digital forensic investigators which revealed Caudell possessed child sexual abuse material.

Caudell was initially charged in Stephens County, but the venue for the charges was determined to be in Habersham County.

Caudell was booked into the Habersham County jail on April 2, 2023.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade.

The ICAC Program, created by the U. S. Department of Justice, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about these cases, or other cases of child exploitation, is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870.

Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.