HARALSON COUNTY, Ga. – On Thursday, January, 29, 2026, in the Superior Court of Haralson County, Stephen Scott Knight pled guilty to eight counts of Sexual Exploitation of Child (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material) and was sentenced to 40 years to serve 20 in prison.

During the hearing, Chief Assistant District Attorney Robert Peterkin, read off descriptions of the eight videos and Sgt. Brent Duggins testified to some of the videos that he had verified in this case.

Knight admitted to having possession of CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material), during his plea.

This case began on July 11, 2024, when Internet Crimes Against Children Investigator, Sgt. Brent Duggins, received over 40 cybertips on a subject that lived in Haralson County that was downloading this illegal material.

During this investigation, Sgt. Duggins verified a few of the files were in fact CSAM, collected further evidence of the individual who was downloading these images/videos and took warrants against him.

On Thursday, August 1, 2024, Deputies, members of the Crime Suppression Unit and Investigators intercepted and took Stephen Knight into custody on his warrants.

Simultaneously, Deputies, members of the Crime Suppression Unit, the Northwest GA Drug Task Force, Investigators and ATF served a search warrant at Knight’s home, located in Buchanan, GA.

During that search warrant, electronic devices were taken, and two firearms were found in Knight’s bedroom.

During the work processing the evidence, over 1000 videos and photos were verified to be CSAM, and a 30-terabyte hard drive with millions of suspected CSAM was not processed due to the overwhelming evidence already found.

The ATF took the firearms for a separate case since Knight was already a convicted felon.

“I appreciate the hard work that Sgt. Duggins put into this very difficult case. As I have said in the past, these cases are very difficult, in part due to the horrendous images and videos that investigators have to see and verify,” states Sheriff Stacy Williams. “This case involved multiple jurisdictions and agencies, and we appreciate everyone that was involved to help in this investigation. I would like to thank the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for their dedication to getting justice in this case. We will always work to protect children and make sure those that harm children are prosecuted to the fullest extent.”