Two Hinesville men were arrested last weekend and charged with several counts of sexual exploitation of children.
Oscar M. Contreras, 27, of Independence Place, and Christopher A. Courtney, 44, of Yale Court, were arrested June 19 and June 20, respectively. The arrests stemmed from an investigation by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, according to LCSO Deputy Charles Woodall.
Woodall said Contreras falsely identified himself on a student networking site and contacted children. “He went on a site called myyearbook.com and pretended to be a 14-year-old boy,” the deputy said. The suspect allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to children and solicited them to engage in sexually explicit activity.
Authorities obtained a warrant, searched Contreras’ residence and seized computer and cellular telephone equipment and other evidence related to the charges. Contreras was arrested and appeared before a magistrate judge where his bond was set at $30,000.
Woodall said Courtney used a peer-to-peer, file-sharing program called Gnutella to download and share various files, including child pornography. From Courtney’s computer, undercover law enforcement agents with the Georgia ICAC downloaded sexually explicit pictures and video files depicting children.
“We just go on the same network and put in a search term strictly associated with child pornography and it brings up files that meet the search criteria,” Woodall said. “Then I can see who’s got files available for download, identify whether they’re in our jurisdiction and then we download from them.”
Authorities then obtained a warrant, searched Courtney’s residence and seized computer equipment and other evidence. Courtney was not home at the time and was arrested the following morning.
ICAC is a multi-jurisdictional task force operated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with members from various state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, to apprehend and prosecute sexual predators who exploit children through the use of computers.
Woodall said Liberty County Sheriff J. Don Martin got the agency involved with the task force about five years ago and it has paid off. “Just this year, we’ve probably done 25-30 child pornography busts in Liberty and Long counties,” the deputy said.