The Hall County Sheriff’s Office arrested a registered sex offender Tuesday on multiple felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Steffan Matthew West, 20, of Braselton, was the subject of a two-month undercover investigation before the sheriff’s office charged him with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of children, agency spokesman Derreck Booth said.
That investigation started in April when the sheriff’s sex offender tracking unit received complaints about West, who was convicted in May 2019 of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16, according to the GBI’s sex offender registry.
During the course of the investigation, authorities said they learned West had at least 10 sexually explicit conversations with someone he thought was younger than 16. Between April 30 and June 25, he called and sent texts and social media messages to an undercover investigator, according to Booth. Sheriff’s deputies seized the phone when they arrested West at his home Tuesday.
He is currently being held in the Hall County Jail, records show.
The case is still under investigation.
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