DECATUR — As a result of a three-month investigation coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, search warrants have been executed in 34 Georgia counties, including Liberty and Long counties, in connection with the distribution of child pornography over the Internet.
Known as "Operation Restore Hope," this state-wide endeavor included 24 local agencies, four federal agencies (FBI, ICE, the Secret Service and U.S. Postal Service), the three U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Georgia (Northern, Middle and Southern districts) and the Georgia Attorney General’s Office.
The Liberty County Sheriffs Office assisted in the arrest of four people in the area as part of the statewide effort to curtail child pornography. Det. Chuck Woodall said in an interview Wednesday that search warrants executed in Liberty and Long counties resulted in the arrest of individuals in possession of child pornographic material on their personnel computers.
"We have been on this case since last week executing warrants on individuals identified through peer-to peer-programs distributingchild pornographic material on the internet," Woodall said. The peer-to-peer programs, which are available on the Internet, are file-sharing programs that allow individuals to share music, files or images with each other. Woodall would not go into detail as to how individuals were singled out in the operation.
Arrested in the operation were:
• Timothy Stephens, 43, of Ludowici was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
• Tony Silva, 45, of Hinesville was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography and obscene Internet contact with children.
• Robert Carlton of Long County was arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.
• James Tomson, 53, of Midway, a registered sex offender, was arrested for possessing child pornography on his computer after his probation officer discovered it during a routine home visit.
Woodall said child pornography is defined as the taking of lewd images of a child under the age of 17. Many of the images discovered on the computers showed children who were clearly photographed for exploitation purposes or engaged in sexual activity with an adult.