Eatonton man among 82 arrested in multi-state child exploitation operation

A total of 82 people were arrested, and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims during a mutually coordinated operation between eight (8) southeastern states. The joint, proactive operation, Operation Southern Impact III, was coordinated by ten (10) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces in those eight states and focused on persons who possess and distribute child pornography and those who are sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet. The planning for Operation Southern Impact III began approximately 4 months ago and culminated in 3 days of investigative actions to include search warrant executions, undercover operations, arrests and sex offender compliance verification visits in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. A total of 171 law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies participated in the operation.

The arrestees ranged in age from 20 to 70. Some of their occupations included non-profit employee, small business owner, store clerk, mechanic, daycare administrator, youth group leader, former high school band director, freelance photographer, construction worker and painter. During the operation, 134 search warrants were executed and 215 knock and talks were conducted in those eight (8) states. During those search warrants and knock and talks, 861 digital devices were previewed and 1,613 digital devices were seized. Of those devices seized 203 were mobile phones.

These investigative actions resulted from both reactive cases such as cybertips received by each ICAC Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and proactive cases such as peer-to-peer investigations and proactive, on-line undercover investigations. Daily each task force receives numerous cybertips from NCMEC related to online child exploitation. During Operation Southern Impact III, the investigations related to 248 cybertips were progressed through the execution of these search warrants and knock and talks, and through the seizure of digital devices which will be forensically processed in the coming weeks. There were 22 internet safety presentations or related events held during the operation as well.

The continued collaboration among the national network of ICAC Task Forces is one of the most successful partnerships in the history of law enforcement. The 61 ICAC Task Forces across the country are working cases and conducting investigative actions like these every day. The Commanders of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces in these states wanted to reinforce to those who harm and exploit children that the ICAC Task Forces will tirelessly work together to make an impact in their respective states and the region as a whole. The cooperation among agencies and among states illustrates their level of commitment to detect, arrest, and prosecute child predators. Cooperation is always important in law enforcement, but it is never more important than when we set out to protect children. Operation Southern Impact III has given us an opportunity to share our experience, information, and resources across units, agencies, and state lines, to make sure that there is no safe place to hide for criminals who would victimize the most vulnerable among us.

In Georgia, 31 people were arrested during Operation Southern Impact III. Most of those arrests involved the possession and/or distribution of child pornography. While investigators regularly target the trading of all types of child pornography, in Operation Southern Impact III investigators targeted those seeking out and distributing the most violent sexual abuse material involving infants and toddlers. The possession, distribution and production of these horrific images is not uncommon. The Georgia ICAC Task Force consistently finds this type of content. Special Agent in Charge of the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit and Commander of the Georgia ICAC Task Force, Debbie Garner, stated that, “the dedicated law enforcement professionals that are part of the Georgia ICAC Task Force will not cease searching for those who are producing, trading and collecting this graphic material. We will continue to work together to find, investigate and prosecute these predators.”

Seven (7) of those arrested in Georgia traveled for the purpose of meeting and having sex with a minor. A goal of the operation was to arrest persons who communicate with children on-line and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. Online child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex. The children these predators target are both boys and girls.

During the operation, four (4) registered sex offenders were encountered and arrested in Georgia on charges related to child pornography. One (1) of the registered sex offenders arrested during Operation Southern Impact III was initially arrested by the GBI during a very similar operation in 2015.

Additionally, as part of Operation Southern Impact III, Department of Community Supervision (DCS) Officers across the state, working with numerous local law enforcement agencies, conducted searches and attempted warrant service on sex offenders that had violated the terms of their supervision. As a result of their efforts, 1,153 searches and 93 arrests were completed. Eight (8) firearms, as well as ammunition, pornographic material, drugs, and drug paraphernalia, were located during the searches. Of those arrested, 32 were under supervision for a computer-related sex offense. DCS is an active member of the Georgia ICAC Task Force. Everyday DCS Officers work diligently in their communities to provide opportunities for successful outcomes, while holding offenders accountable.

In Georgia, a total of 56 search warrants were executed and 41 knock and talks were conducted during Operation Southern Impact III. Law enforcement officers conducting the searches were looking for evidence of possession and distribution of child pornography using the internet as well as evidence of other child exploitation related crimes. Over the course of the operation, 305 digital devices were examined on site and 972 digital media and devices were seized as evidence. During these searches, illegal drugs and firearms were found as well.

Those arrested in Georgia were charged with crimes pursuant to O.C.G.A. 16-12-100.2, Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007. Additional charges are likely and other arrests will occur after analysis of seized digital devices.

Those in custody and charged in Georgia as part of Operation Southern Impact III are:

James Barfield IV, 51, Atlanta, home improvement store employee
Dillan M. Bell, 26, Allenhurst, unemployed
Gerald Chamberlain, 34, Rome, golf course maintenance worker
Carol Chellew, 56, Jefferson, county employee
Doug Chellew, 56, Jefferson, department store employee
Timothy Wayne Diggs, 39, Metter, information technology specialist
Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, restaurant employee
Erick Noe Gonzalez, 26, Buford, landscaper
Erik Gordon, 30, Morrow, shipping company employee
Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, staffing company employee
Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, unemployed
Claude Martin Johnson IV, 21, Augusta, unemployed
Andrew Kim, 30, Suwanee, business owner
Jordan Logan, 33, Grovetown, painter
Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, railroad worker
Andrew J. Martz, 30, Tyrone, student
Matthew James McDurmond, Cedartown, unknown
Terry Menard, 61, Roswell, multimedia designer
Daniel Joseph Mullinax, 35, Auburn, unemployed
Justin Lee Myers, 22, Cleveland, unknown
Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, construction worker
Michael David Quinn, 44, Roswell, unknown
Matthew Steven Ramski, 37, Cumming, graphic design artist
Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, Ala., fireman
Malchijah Robinson, 40, Decatur, unemployed

Jeannette Farmer Eady, 74, passed away Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at Nunn-Wheeler Cemetery with the Rev. Freddie Hogg officiating. Mrs. Eady was born in Milledgeville and was a graduate of Baldwin County High School. She worked for Dr. …

Grady Ray Townsend (Pop) of Oxford, passed away Friday, May 15, 2020, at the age of 89. A Marine, Mr. Townsend valiantly served his country in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War and was a faithful member of Heritage Hills Baptist Church. He was a hardworking, selfless man w…

Benjie Dewayne Fountain, 58, passed away Thursday, May 15, 2020. Private services will be held at West View Cemetery. Benjie was a life-long resident of Baldwin County. He was a retired electrician. He was preceded in death by his father, James E. Fountain; and two brothers, Eddie Fountain a…

A private burial service for Mrs. Lois Gilbert of Sparta, Ga., will be held for family. Her memories shall forever remain in the heart of her children, Johnnie Gilbert, Jennie Rous, Brenda Gilbert, Polly Wheeler, Eddie Gilbert, Bobby Gilbert, Deborah Gilbert, Timmy Gilbert, Trudy Butt and Ro…

Funeal services for Mrs. Evelyn R. Abram of Sparta, Ga., will be held privately with family. Her memories will be cherished by her children, Timothy Duggans, Charles Duggans, Kathy Harper, Lucious Abrams, Reva Williams and Vanessa Cheathem. Services entrusted to Dawson’s Mortuary, 98 Hopgood…

Source: https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/eatonton-man-among-82-arrested-in-multi-state-child-exploitation-operation/article_dd3b4090-6fac-11e9-93c0-0f4b0acb6a34.html

Former Georgia probation officer charged with extorting a parolee

Tyrique F. Williams, a former officer with Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision, has been charged with accepting bribe payments from a parolee in exchange for allowing the parolee to avoid wearing an ankle monitor, taking polygraph examinations, and attending treatment classes.

“Officers from Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision serve our citizens faithfully and honorably every day,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Williams, however, allegedly violated both his oath of office as a law enforcement officer and the law when he traded his integrity for money.”

“As citizens, we place our safety and trust in the hands of the law enforcement officers sworn to protect us. When officers betray that trust, they place the community and their fellow law enforcement officers in danger. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is committed to working hand in hand with its partners to ensure those that betray their badge are identified and held accountable for their actions,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.

“The reputation of law enforcement officers is one of their most valuable tools. The alleged illegal actions committed by Mr. Williams are a disservice to our agency and its upstanding employees who take their oath of office to heart. DCS has zero tolerance for misconduct or illegal activity. Despite the situation being unfortunate and regrettable, DCS was happy to assist in the investigation and will continue to partner with investigative authorities to remove the likes of Williams from our noble profession,” said Racheal B. Peters, Director of Public Affairs for the Georgia Department of Community Supervision.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: the Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision is responsible for the probation and parole supervision of over 200,000 adult felony offenders and certain juvenile offenders.

In the fall of 2014, Williams began working as a probation officer with the Department of Community Supervision. From 2016 to 2018, the Department of Community Supervision managed a parolee (“Parolee”), who had previously served 14 years in prison for a sexual offense. While on parole, the Parolee completed a number of courses and treatment classes and the Parolee never incurred a parole violation. Nevertheless, once Williams became responsible for the supervision of the Parolee, Williams told the Parolee that additional conditions and restrictions would be placed on the Parolee.

On April 19, 2018, Williams allegedly visited the Parolee’s residence and displayed a hand written note reading in substance: $3,000, no polygraph, no ankle bracelet, no supervision fee, yes or no? After reading the note, the Parolee told Williams that he would pay him the $3,000. The Parolee then contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and reported Williams’ extortionate demand.

On April 27, 2018, in a meeting recorded by the FBI, the Parolee met with Williams at the Georgia Department of Community Supervision in Decatur, Georgia. During the meeting, Williams led the Parolee to a secluded area of the building, where the Parolee paid Williams $1,000 in cash. Williams told the Parolee that in exchange for a second $3,500 bribe payment, Williams would not require the Parolee to wear an ankle monitor or submit to a polygraph examination.

On May 4, 2018, in a meeting recorded by the FBI, the Parolee met with Williams at a fast food restaurant in Stone Mountain, Georgia. In the bathroom of the fast food restaurant, the Parolee paid Williams $3,500 in cash.

Notably, after the Parolee paid the two bribe payments, Williams did not make the Parolee take a polygraph examination, wear an ankle bracelet, or attend any additional treatment classes

Tyrique F. Williams, 28, of Atlanta, has been charged via criminal information with one count of Extortion under the Color of Official Right. Defendants who are charged by a criminal information, typically plead guilty shortly after being arraigned.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and the Georgia’s Department of Community Supervision.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis, Chief of the Public Integrity and Special Matters Section, and Leanne M. Marek are prosecuting the case.

This is a press release from the US Department of Justice.

Source: https://allongeorgia.com/georgia-public-safety/former-georgia-probation-officer-charged-with-extorting-a-parolee/

Live Oak man arrested for lewd, lascivious molestation

LIVE OAK, Fla. — The Live Oak Police Department arrested a man Sunday on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor child.

According to an LOPD press release, officers responded to a residence on NW Duval Street following reports of a sexual offense with a minor, under the age of 12.

The release states that 48-year-old Manuel Hernandez, of Live Oak, allegedly grabbed the victim by the arm and attempted to kiss her on the mouth after she entered a storage building at the residence.

The suspect also allegedly groped the victim’s genital areas with his hands on the outside of the victim’s clothing, according to the LOPD release.

The release states the victim then fled the building and sought help with a parent calling the police.

According to the release, the suspect denied the allegations, saying through an interpreter, that he only “hugged” the victim.

The LOPD and the Department of Children and Families are continuing to investigate the allegations.

Source: https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/ga_fl_news/live-oak-man-arrested-for-lewd-lascivious-molestation/article_323004f5-222d-5ae0-8995-7cd3656d1b40.html

Man sentenced for Clinch sex crimes

HOMERVILLE — A man has been sentenced for sex crimes in Clinch County, according to the district attorney’s office.

Charlie Ben Curry Jr., 50, pleaded guilty to enticing a child for indecent purposes and to sexual battery against a person under 16 years of age, according to a statement from the office of Alapaha District Attorney Dick Perryman.

The sentence handed down was for 30 years, with the first eight to be served in the Georgia prison system, the statement said.

Curry pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from his sexual contact with a teenage girl, Perryman’s statement said.

If Curry completes his prison sentence, he will spend the remainder of his life on probation, including sex offender registration and sex offender probation conditions. Curry will also be banished for 30 years from 10 South Georgia counties including Clinch, Atkinson, Lanier, Cook and Berrien, the statement said.

Curry was sentenced by Chief Superior Court Judge Howard McClain.

“The things this man has done are inexcusable and I am proud we have been able to secure a lengthy prison sentence and his complete banishment from our community. It is a top priority of my office to prosecute people who harm children. I am grateful for the hard work and effort from my staff including Assistant District Attorney Annika Register. I must also commend the work of the Homerville Police Department. While the innocence lost at the hands of this man can never be recovered, I am pleased with the outcome of this case,” Perryman said in his statement.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.

Source: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/man-sentenced-for-clinch-sex-crimes/article_49e51760-4aad-572f-b297-004ca9e9f06b.html

US charges Assange with conspiring with Manning

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer.

The charge was announced Thursday after Assange was taken into custody in London in connection with a U.S. extradition request, as well as for breaching U.K. bail conditions in 2012.

His lawyer has previously said that Assange planned to fight any U.S. charges against him.

The indictment accuses Assange of assisting Manning, a former U.S. intelligence analyst, in cracking a password that helped Manning infiltrate Pentagon computers.

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2:10 p.m.

Ecuador’s government says that as part of its decision to expel Julian Assange from its embassy in London, it has withdrawn the Ecuadorian citizenship he was granted last year in a failed attempt to end the activist’s tumultuous stay at its diplomatic mission.

Ecuador also accused supporters of WikiLeaks and two Russian hackers of attempting to destabilize their country.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said in Quito a close collaborator of WikiLeaks had traveled with former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino this year to several countries, including Peru, Spain and Venezuela, in an attempt to undermine the government. She did not identify the individual but said their name, as well as two Russian hackers working in Ecuador, would be turned over to judicial authorities in the coming hours.

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2 p.m.

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May says the arrest of Julian Assange shows that “no one is above the law.”

May was speaking to the House of Commons after the arrest of the WikiLeaks founder, who was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy Thursday after taking refuge there for seven years to avoid extradition. Ecuador announced it was revoking Assange’s asylum status, citing repeated violations of international conventions.

Assange is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates court later Thursday on allegations of breaching bail conditions dating to 2012, and on extradition charges to the United States.

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1:50 p.m.

A U.S. official says the Justice Department is preparing to announce charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The official spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because no charges have yet been announced.

The exact nature of the charges was not immediately known.

Assange was arrested Thursday in London by police for breaching 2012 bail conditions as well as on an extradition request from the United States.

–By Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.

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1:40 p.m.

Sweden’s Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren says “we have not been able to decide on the available information” whether a stalled investigation into alleged sexual offenses against Julian Assange could be reopened if he returns to Sweden before the statute of limitations lapses in August 2020.

In 2017, Swedish prosecutors dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, saying there was no way to detain or charge him “in the foreseeable future” because of his protected status inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Assange was arrested earlier Thursday at the embassy, where he had been holed up for seven years

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1:10 p.m.

Edward Snowden, the former security contractor who leaked classified information about U.S. surveillance programs, says the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a blow to media freedom.

“Images of Ecuador’s ambassador inviting the U.K.’s secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of–like it or not–award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books,” Snowden said in a tweet.

“Assange’s critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom.”

Snowden was charged by the United States in 2013 of violating the country’s espionage act. He was granted asylum by Russia that year and the asylum has been extended until at least 2020.

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12:50 p.m.

London police say they have arrested Julian Assange on extradition charges to the United States, as well as for breaching U.K. bail conditions.

Scotland Yard said in a statement Thursday that Assange was “further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act.”

The WikiLeaks founder sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, after he was released on bail while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations. The accusations have since been dropped but he was still wanted for jumping bail.

Separately, he has been under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny for years for WikiLeaks’ role in publishing thousands of government secrets.

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12:05 p.m.

A senior member of Germany’s opposition Left party says Europe must not allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States for trial.

Sevim Dagdelen said in a statement that the withdrawal of Assange’s political asylum by Ecuador and his subsequent arrest by British police was a “scandal, a violation of international law, and at the same time a severe blow to independent journalism.”

She says it is the German government’s “duty” now to prevent Britain, which earlier Thursday was granted an extension to its departure from the European Union, from extraditing Assange to the U.S., “where he faces life imprisonment or even the death penalty for exposing U.S. war crimes.”

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12 p.m.

Julian Assange’s attorney Jennifer Robinson says the WikiLeaks founder had been arrested on an extradition request from the United States as well as on charges of breaching his bail conditions.

In a tweet, Robinson said Assange “has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request.”

The U.S. Justice Department inadvertently revealed the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange in a court filing last year. It’s not clear what he’s been accused of.

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked a trove of classified material to WikiLeaks, was jailed last month after she refused to testify before a grand jury.

In a statement Thursday, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said: “We are aware of the reports that Julian Assange was taken into custody by United Kingdom authorities.”

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11:50 a.m.

The Swedish woman who alleged that she was raped by Julian Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 has welcomed his arrest in London.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, the lawyer for the unnamed woman, says news of Assange’s arrest earlier Thursday came as “a shock to my client” and that it was something “we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012.”

Massi Fritz said in a text message sent to The Associated Press that “we are going to do everything” to have the Swedish case reopened “so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape.”

Massi Fritz said “no rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served.”

In 2017, Sweden’s top prosecutor dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, saying there was no way to have Assange detained or charged within a foreseeable future because of his protected status inside the embassy.

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11:35 a.m.

WikiLeaks has accused “powerful actors,” including the CIA, of a “sophisticated” effort to dehumanize Julian Assange.

The comments by the organization Assange founded came soon after he was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been holed up for seven years.

In a tweet, the organization posted a photo of Assange with the words: “This man is a son, a father, a brother. He has won dozens of journalism awards. He’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2010. Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanise, delegitimize and imprison him. #ProtectJulian.”

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11:15 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says Russia wants Julian Assange’s rights to be observed following his arrest.

Shortly after Assange’s arrest in London, Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he could not comment on the overall case.

But, he said, “We of course hope that all of his rights will be observed.”

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11 a.m.

Ecuador’s president says his government withdrew asylum status for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange almost seven years after he sought refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in London, citing “repeated violations of international conventions and daily-life protocols.”

Lenin Moreno announced the “sovereign decision” in a statement accompanied by a video on Twitter on Thursday.

Assange hasn’t left the embassy since August 2012 for fear that if he steps off Ecuador’s diplomatic soil he would be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

London police arrested Assange at the embassy Thursday on a court warrant issued in 2012, when he failed to surrender to the court.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange “is no hero and no one is above the law.”

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10:45 a.m.

Police in London say they’ve arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012.

In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into “custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as is possible.”

Assange hasn’t left the embassy since August 2012 for fear that if he steps off Ecuador’s diplomatic soil he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

Source: https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/us-charges-assange-with-conspiring-with-manning/article_2e50d4fc-5c5e-11e9-924b-2b37028bad4f.html

Key sex trafficking bill heads to governor

The state Senate by a 52-0 vote Friday sent Senate Bill 158, the “Anti-Human Trafficking Protective Response Act,” to the governor for his signature. The legislation was a priority for the Governor’s Office this session.

State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough and floor leader for the governor, explained some of the amendments to the bill since the last time the Senate voted.

“The first is in Section 1-3 of the bill, and here we just confirmed that the organization, the victim assistance organization that we’re referring child victims to, will be certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council,” Strickland said. “The next change is in Section 1-6. This is where we made it where a minor cannot be prosecuted for prostitution in our state — we have the age of 17, because that is the age in our state of being an adult in Georgia. The House had a version of the bill, they wanted 18, and we agreed with them, so 18 is the age we went to there.

“The bigger changes come in sections 1-9 and 1-10, and this is where we’re trying to use our nuisance laws to go after businesses that have human trafficking occurring on their premises, and are profiting from that. The big thing we discussed is how you create a presumption of a nuisance.”

He said there is a presumed nuisance if there’s a conviction or guilty plea regarding a sex offense committed on the property. Nuisance presumption typically will follow a set of notices given to the property owner, especially involving repeated drug activity. Strickland said that from law enforcement testimony, illegal drug activity tends to occur where sex trafficking occurs.

House Bill 424, adding sex trafficking to the state gang law, passed the Senate on substitute 50-0 and returns to the House for concurrence. State Sen. John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, who presented the bill, noted that language regarding elder abuse — which was part of a different bill originally — was added in order to clean up the state law and reduce conflicts.

The Senate also passed S.B. 6, which prohibits the use of drones to drop contraband into jails and prisons, and now goes to the governor.

The chamber decided not to agree to the House’s changes to a revision of the state hunting laws, so that has to be dealt with in conference committee if S.B. 72 is to advance. While there are minor changes throughout the bill, most of the talk regarding the bill involved the legalization of airgun hunting on private land, and making it easier under the law to bait feral hogs.

With state Sen. William Ligon, R-White Oak, on an excused absence, state Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, presented H.B. 201. That bill, of which the lead sponsor is state Rep. Don Hogan, R-St. Simons Island, prohibits the residents of live-aboard vessels from dumping raw sewage into the state estuaries. It also allows for the state Department of Natural Resources to administer anchorages where pumping out of the waste is possible.

H.B. 201 passed the Senate by a vote of 45-0, and because there were no Senate changes, it now also goes to the governor for his signature.

In the House, a resolution supported in a bipartisan manner by the coastal delegation never received a vote. House Resolution 48, which advocates for coastal industries and the coastal environment, while opposing seismic airgun testing and offshore drilling, was placed on the calendar by the House Rules Committee earlier Friday.

However, apropos of nothing and with no explanation at the time, state Rep. Alan Powell — a Republican from Hartwell who does not sit on the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, which favorably reported the resolution — late Friday afternoon had it recommitted to the Rules Committee.

Source: https://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/key-sex-trafficking-bill-heads-to-governor/article_a49009ba-6bbb-520b-8b45-b307e85e0a00.html

Sex offender found wandering in Georgia elementary school hallway

Officials said surveillance video showed he had no interactions with children in the 5 minutes before he was found.

PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. — School officials in north Georgia say a man who entered an elementary school Friday morning was a registered sex offender.

Officials said that around 9 a.m., a man gained access to Tate Elementary School in Pickens County and was in the building for about 5 minutes before being confronted by personnel.

According to a spokesperson for the Pickens County School District, he was then escorted to the front office.

After checking his identification and running his information, they learned that the man, later identified by the school resource officer as 57-year-old Bruce Lee Daniell of Dawsonville, is a registered sex offender.

State records provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation suggest that Daniell was arrested for being a “Peeping Tom” in 2004.

“Due to the upgraded security camera system, district staff can confirm that the subject had no direct interactions with students,” the school district said in a letter to parents that was also shared online.

However, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office said he entered a restroom and remained there for about 2 minutes, during which time four students came in as well. Investigators said Daniell never attempted to contact them and, after the fourth student entered, he walked into the hallway where he was found by staff members. Authorities said he claimed to be looking for employment.

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office soon opened an investigation and issued warrants for Daniell’s arrest on charges of felony restrictions for sexual offenders and burglary. He was arrested at his home in Dawson County.

The sheriff’s office later added that Daniell first tried to enter a locked door at the front of the school but then moved to the east entrance where he found a door that wasn’t closed all the way.

“We want to assure all parents and our community that we take these situations seriously,” officials said in their letter. “We must all work together as a community of students, parents and school personnel to keep our campuses safe.”

NWGa sheriffs remove GPS trackers but continue monitoring sexual predators in their counties

Across Northwest Georgia, ankle monitors are being removed from sexual predators who have served their time — but authorities will still be keeping tabs on them for the rest of their lives.

Under state law, people convicted of sex offenses must register their addresses with the sheriff’s office of the county where they reside and keep it updated every time they move.

“They’re still required to abide by all the rules of the sex offender registry,” said Deputy Anthony Cromer, who runs the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office registry. “We check on them multiple times a year.”

They each hold one of three classifications: Level 1, Level 2 or Sexually Dangerous Predator. Their classification is assigned upon their release from prison by the Sexual Offender Registry Review Board, based on the risk that they’ll re-offend.

“Anybody classified as a dangerous predator is required to wear an ankle monitor,” Cromer said. “It used to be for life, but now it’s just while they’re on probation or parole.”

The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled in early March that requiring people to be continuously tracked by GPS after they’ve completed their sentences “authorizes a patently unreasonable search that runs afoul of the protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Gordon County’s registry had 172 residents listed on the sex offender registry, with seven of those classified as predators. The oldest conviction date was 1993, for aggravated child molestation, with a second offense in 2018 for sexual battery of a child. The other six men had single convictions, all child crimes, ranging from 2004 to 2011.

The Gordon County Sheriff’s Office maintains the addresses of registered sex offenders in its database. A map can be found on the sheriff’s office website, gordonsheriff.org/resources/sex-offender-registry. This map “is based upon a third party database of coordinates from a web-based mapping tool provided by Google.”

Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap announced earlier this month that the electronic monitors had been removed from the four predators registered in his county who fit the criteria of the order.

Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader was doing it Wednesday, according to Serpentfoot — a Rome native whose 89-year-old husband James A. Ragan is monitored in that county. She said they had previously petitioned for removal due to Ragan’s health and the court ruling comes as a relief.

“He’s bedridden, he has home health care and that thing was cutting into his little skinny legs,” she said. “It was cruel.”

Serpentfoot and Ragan still claim he’s innocent of the child molestation charge that put him in jail in 2006 and on the registry for life. The vast majority of the sexual predators listed in Floyd and surrounding counties were convicted of crimes against children.

In Floyd County, 10 of the 240 residents on the registry as of Wednesday were classified as predators and all of their crimes involved minors.

The oldest conviction dates to 1990, for child molestation, and two other men were convicted in the late ’90s. Three men on the list have two or more convictions several years apart.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains an online searchable statewide sex offender registry and each county sheriff has a local tracker on their website. Floyd, Polk and Bartow counties also have contracts with OffenderWatch, a national sex offender and community notice service.

Polk County had five sexual predators among the 122 residents listed on its registry — all convicted of child molestation.

Sentencing dates ranged from 1996 to 2010 and none of the five had second offenses.

Three of Chattooga County’s 122 registered sex offenders are classified as predators. Two were convicted of child molestation and one served time for enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Bartow had a total of 261 sex offenders registered, including 11 classed as sexual predators. Conviction dates ranged from 1983 to 2013, and one man had two convictions for sexual assault more than a decade apart — both in Wisconsin.

Source: https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/news/state/nwga-sheriffs-remove-gps-trackers-but-continue-monitoring-sexual-predators-in-their-counties/article_4c4812c6-42b7-5dca-92df-2ac31aff624c.html

Supreme Court Sex Offender Ruling

By | March 8, 2019 at 8:15 PM EST – Updated March 8 at 8:15 PM

Supreme Court Sex Offender Ruling

Source: https://www.walb.com/video/2019/03/09/supreme-court-sex-offender-ruling/

Georgia Supreme Court ruling strikes down tool for tracking sex offenders

GEORGIA

Law enforcement will still be able to track offenders through the sex offender registry

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A recent decision from the Georgia Supreme Court is shaking up the way law enforcement tracks some sex offenders.

For years, Georgia law required lifelong electronic tracking for “sexually dangerous predators” even after they completed their sentence, including their time on probation or parole.

However, in a ruling released Monday, the state’s top court said no more.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that lifelong monitoring after a completed sentence violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search.

The court reasoned that an ankle bracelet feeding location data to law enforcement constituted a never ending search.

Defense attorney Frank Hogue thought the court got it right.

“I think it’s a good decision because it holds the Fourth Amendment center to our values of privacy against government intrusion,” said Hogue.

On the law enforcement side, the response was mixed.

Lieutenant Kent Bankston with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office said those post-sentence ankle monitors were reserved for serious offenders, including those who committed crimes against children.

“When you’ve committed rape, you know, or any type of felony such as that,” said Bankston.

But he said the ruling wouldn’t keep the sheriff’s office from doing their job.

“I understand the public concern, but it’s not going to change the way we do things,” he said.

Offenders who were formerly wearing the tracker will remain on the sex offender registry and will still have to provide their address to law enforcement. Bankston said law enforcement will, in turn, continue to verify those addresses with in-person checks, as they always have.

He also noted that the “predators”–the group of sex crime offenders the Georgia Bureau of Investigation deems most dangerous–make up a very small portion of Houston County’s sex offender registry.

Of 287 people on the registry, Bankston said only five were classified as predators.

Bibb County had similar numbers.

According to Sgt. Clay Williams, the county has 404 offenders total on the registry. Five of them are deemed predators.

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis was still angry at the ruling.

In a Facebook post, he said the ruling has ‘essentially removed the shackles from monsters in our society.’

He went on to ask legislators to find a way to bring the monitoring program back.

Hogue says a short concurring opinion shows that could be a possibility.

“(It) essentially tells the Georgia legislature ‘here’s an idea for how you can monitor these people with a GPS legally for the rest of their lives,” he said.

That idea, he said, is passing legislation that calls for lifetime probation sentences for the worst sex crime offenders.

While on probation, the law provides them a diminished expectation of privacy. Under those circumstances, law enforcement could be able to legally track offenders with monitoring bracelets.

Source: https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/ga-supreme-court-ruling-strikes-down-tool-for-tracking-sex-offenders/93-16d41324-c6a3-49aa-84d4-93648f95bd16