GBI News Release, Update: “Operation Secret Guardian” Targets People Trading Child Pornography

Georgia Bureau of Investigation

News Release

 For Immediate Release

October 15, 2015

Update:

“Operation Secret Guardian” Targets People Trading Child Pornography

 Decatur, GA – Eighteen (18) people were arrested and charged with crimes related to possession, production, or distribution of images of child pornography after a  3-month statewide investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) and the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

As a result of this 3 month proactive investigation coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) and the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, 24 search warrants were executed in 16 counties today.  Law enforcement officers conducting the searches were looking for evidence of distribution of child pornography using the internet.

This state-wide endeavor, known as Operation Secret Guardian, began in July 2015 and centered on GBI Agents, along with local and federal Georgia ICAC Task Force affiliates, detecting child pornography images being shared using the internet.  The purpose of the operation was to arrest persons who possessed, produced, or distributed images of child pornography using the internet.

Over the course of the operation, 69 digital devices were examined and 232 digital devices were seized as evidence.  Over the course of the operation, 18 arrests were made as a result of evidence and information obtained during the search warrants.  Those arrested were charged with OCGA 16-12-100.2, Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.  Additional charges may be forthcoming.  Additional arrest warrants have been issued and other arrests may occur after analysis of seized digital devices.

The operation was a coordinated effort between the following federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies:

1. Georgia Bureau of Investigation
2. Athens-Clarke County Police Department
3. Bacon County Sheriff’s Office
4. Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
5. Brookhaven Police Department
6. Burke County Sheriff’s Office
7. Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office
8. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
9. Cobb County Police Department
10. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office
11. Dawson County Sheriff’s Office
12. Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
13. Early County Sheriff’s Office
14. Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
15. Glynn County Police Department
16. Gwinnett County Police Department
17. Harris County Sheriff’s Office
18. Henry County Police Department
19. Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
20. Lilburn Police Department
21. Marietta Police Department
22. Newton County Sheriff’s Office
23. Paulding County Sheriff’s Office
24. Pooler Police Department
25. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office
26. Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
27. Roswell Police Department
28. Smyrna Police Department
29. Walker County Sheriff’s Office
30. Walton County Sheriff’s Office
31. Federal Bureau of Investigation
32. United States Postal Inspection Service
33. Homeland Security Investigations

The targets of Operation Secret Guardian were those who produce or who create the demand for production of child pornography – which is essentially photographic evidence of the sexual assault of a child.  By collecting and distributing this material, they create the demand for production of child pornography.  The following persons were arrested and charged as part of Operation Secret Guardian:

1. Earl Benson, age 68, Dawsonville, GA, contract employee
2. Joseph Brantley – age 36, Waynesboro, GA, land survey company employee
3. Jeremy Converse – age 37, Dallas, GA, tow truck driver
4. Casilvo Valdivi Crisanto –  age 42, Glynn County, fast food restaurant worker
5. Isidro Delibrado – age 49, Marietta, GA, flooring installer
6. Richard Ellis Ford – age 42, Rossville, GA, fast food worker
7. Jaco Armani Griggs – age 29, Covington, GA, unemployed/disabled
8. Tyler Kauffman – age 23 Marietta, GA, unknown
9. Jason Kingry – age 43, Atlanta, GA, construction worker
10. Bobby Justin Lynn – age 29, Buford, GA, retail worker
11. Uriah McCullers – age 37, Bethlehem,GA, Deputy – Walton County Sheriff’s Office
12. Julio Gomez Munoz – age 28, Roswell, GA, restaurant worker
13. Samuel Oh – age 30, Hinesville, GA, military personnel
14. Juan Cesar Olvera – age 38, Athens, GA, restaurant worker
15. Matthew Payton – age 32, Smyrna, GA, fast food worker
16. Christopher Rinker – age 46, Hamilton, GA, LAN engineer
17. David Christopher Sammons – age 29, Eatonton, GA,  aerospace company employee
18. Colby Harrison Waldroup – age 23, Monroe, GA, unknown

Georgia ICAC Commander and GBI Special Agent in Charge Debbie Garner applauded the hard work of the entire Georgia ICAC Task Force during Operation Secret Guardian and every day.  “The investigators who work child exploitation cases are some of the most dedicated law enforcement officers there are, despite the psychological toll this type of investigation exacts on them.”

The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 200+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices.  The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention, and community education. The ICAC Program 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. By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level.

The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 196 arrests in 2014 and has made over 1,500 arrests since its inception in 2002.  The Georgia ICAC Task Force website is www.familyinternet.info and the GBI website is http://gbi.georgia.gov/.