Child Porn Investigation Expands in Surrounding Area

Last week the Loganville Police Department assisted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in executing a warrant and arresting a Loganville man in connection with a months-long investigation into the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. James Tilden, 45, of Cown Drive, Loganville was the suspect charged in that case. Warrants are out for a second suspect and the Oconee Patch is reporting that Watkinsville Police assisted the GBI Wednesday morning is executing a warrant on an Oconee County man, all in connection with the same investigation.

Walton County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Keith Brooks said information about the second Walton County suspect will be forthcoming as soon as the arrest is made. The suspect is named by The Walton Tribune as James Kingsland, 54, 3020 Green Road, Loganville.

According to a news release issued last week, “Operation Guarding Innocence,”  a coordinated effort between the GBI and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, has resulted in at least 78 searches in 37 other counties targeting nearly 100 people believed to be involved in the trade of the illegal images.  It's being touted as the largest operation of its kind in Georgia.

An Athens man is among 47 who've been charged so far, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.  The newspaper reports that no makers of child porn were identified during the investigation, but images were allegedly found on electronic devices belonging to those who'd been arrested.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and housed within the GBI, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims, the GBI news release states. There have been 974 arrests in Georgia by the ICAC Task Force since it was established in 2002.