82 people have been arrested and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims in a multi-state child exploitation operation. According to media release from the GBI, Operation Southern Impact III (3) involved eight southeastern states. The effort was coordinated by 10 Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces. It focused on suspects accused of possessing and distributing child pornography and sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet.
The four-month long investigation culminated in three days of actions including executing search warrants, undercover operations, arrests and sex offender verification visits in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. A total of 171 law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies participated in the operation. During these searches, illegal drugs and firearms were found as well.
Those arrested ranged in age from 20 to 70. Some of their occupations included: small business owner, daycare administrator, youth group leader and former high school band director.
In Georgia, 31 people were arrested including 56-year old Carol Chellew, and 56-year old, Doug Chellew.
Those arrested in Georgia were charged with crimes under the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.
Seven (7) of those arrested in Georgia traveled for the purpose of meeting and having sex with a minor
Additional charges are likely and other arrests will occur after analysis of seized digital devices.
The operation was a coordinated effort between the following local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies in Georgia.
Those in custody and charged in Georgia as part of Operation Southern Impact III are:
1. James Barfield IV, 51, Atlanta, GA, home improvement store employee
2. Dillan M. Bell, 26, Allenhurst, GA, unemployed
3. Gerald Chamberlain, 34, Rome, GA, golf course maintenance worker
4. Carol Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, county employee
5. Doug Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, department store employee
6. Timothy Wayne Diggs, 39, Metter, GA, information technology specialist
7. Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, GA, restaurant employee
8. Erick Noe Gonzalez, 26, Buford, GA, landscaper
9. Erik Gordon, 30, Morrow, GA, shipping company employee
10. Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, GA, staffing company employee
11. Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, GA, unemployed
12. Claude Martin Johnson IV, 21, Augusta, GA, unemployed
13. Andrew Kim, 30, Suwanee, GA, business owner
14. Jordan Logan, 33, Grovetown, GA, painter
15. Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, GA, railroad worker
16. Andrew J. Martz, 30, Tyrone, GA, student
17. Matthew James McDurmond, 26, Cedartown, unknown
18. Terry Menard, 61, Roswell, GA, multimedia designer
19. Daniel Joseph Mullinax, 35, Auburn, GA, unemployed
20. Justin Lee Myers, 22, Cleveland, GA, unknown
21. Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, GA, construction worker
22. Michael David Quinn, 44, Roswell, GA, unknown
23. Matthew Steven Ramski, 37, Cumming, GA, graphic design artist
24. Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, AL, fireman
25. Malchijah Robinson, 40, Decatur, GA, unemployed
26. David Chris Sammons, 33, Eatonton, GA, factory worker
27. Omar S. Sanchez-Viera, 40, Jonesboro, GA, health supplement company employee
28. Chad Sitzwohl, 35, Dawsonville, GA, factory worker
29. Wille D. Slaughter, 33, Valdosta, GA, military veteran
30. Wan Yeung Tang, 45, Cumming, GA, dishwasher
31. Tyler Wooten, 21, Sharpsburg, GA, student
The operation was a coordinated effort between the following local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies in Georgia:
Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Alpharetta Police Department
Americus Police Department
Athens-Clarke County Police Department
Atlanta Police Department
Baldwin County Sheriff's Office
Barrow County Sheriff’s Office
Bartow County Sheriff’s Office
Bibb County Sheriff’s Office
Burke County Sheriff’s Office
Camden County Sheriff’s Office
Candler County Sheriff’s Office
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
Clayton County Police Department
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Cobb County Police Department
Colquitt County Sheriff's Office
Columbia County Sheriff’s Office
Coweta County Sheriff’s Office
Crawford County Sheriff's Office
Dawson County Sheriff’s Office
DeKalb County Police Department
DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office
Department of Community Supervision
Duluth Police Department
Effingham County Sheriff’s Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Floyd County Police Department
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
Ft. Valley Police Department
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
GA Fusion Center – GBI-GISAC
Glynn County Sheriff’s Office
Glynn County Police Department
Greene County Sheriff's Office
Gwinnett County Police Department
Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office
Habersham County Sheriff's Office
Hall County Sheriff’s Office
Haralson County Sheriff’s Office
Heard County Sheriff’s Office
Henry County Police Department
Henry County Sheriff's Office Hiram Police Department
Houston County Sheriff’s Office
Jefferson Police Department
Jesup Police Department
John’s Creek Police Department
Jones County Sheriff's Office
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
Marietta Police Department
Lilburn Police Department
Long County Sheriff’s Office
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office
McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Morgan County Sheriff's Office
Muscogee County Sheriff's Office
Newton County Sheriff’s Office
Paulding County Sheriff’s Office
Peach County Sheriff's Office
Polk County Police Department
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
Roswell Police Department
Sandy Springs Police Department
Savannah Police Department
Sumter County Sheriff’s Office
Suwanee Police Department
Thomas County Sheriff’s Office
Troup County Sheriff’s Office
Tyrone Police Department
United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Marshals Service
United States Secret Service
Walton County Sheriff’s Office
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office
Wilkinson County Sheriff's Office
