Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office continues crackdown on computer crimes involving children

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office this week announced that investigators have arrested 20 suspects this year for computer crimes involving children, eight of those in the last two months.

Sheriff Ron Freeman posted a video to the FCSO Facebook page praising the work of the High Tech Crimes Unit.

“Our High Tech Crimes Unit, and the men and women there, are working every day to make sure our kids stay safe,” Freeman said. “They’re really good at what they do, so for you predators who think Forsyth County is a safe place, you’ve got another thing coming.”

The specialized unit initiates investigations and conducts forensic analysis on computer evidence in cases involving child exploitation crimes. Members of the unit collaborate with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in cases involving possession of child sexual abuse images.

Information from the HTCU said of the 20 suspects arrested so far this year, eight were arrested in the last two months alone.

Investigators said all eight of those suspects were men and all were charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children. The arrests included:

• Male, 70 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 16 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children;
• Male, 58 years old, of Gainesville – Charged with 14 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children;
• Male, 23 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children;
• Male, 36 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 6 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children;
• Possession and 1 count Sexual Exploitation of Children Distribution;
• Male, 52 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 12 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children Possession;
• Male, 17 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 12 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children Possession;
• Male, 17 years old, of Cumming – Charged with 14 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children Possession;
• Male, 15-year-old, of Cumming – Juvenile complaint form filed including 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children Possession.

HTCU investigators said they made 58 arrests for sex based offenses in 2019.