A Gilmer County man was arrested and charged as part of a joint operation between the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies targeting child exploitation.
Bennie Jacob House, 35, of East Ellijay, was arrested on Aug. 18, and charged with two counts of possession, manufacturing, distribution, etc., VGCSA, possess or control of any material depicting a minor in sexually explicit conduct as part of “Operation Sneaky Peach,” according to a press release from the GBI.
A total of 26 individuals were arrested over an 11-day period as part of the operation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, along with 24 participating agencies which are all part of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office is part of the task force.
“Child sex trafficking and child pornography are much too prevalent in our society, and we are proud to participate with the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit as a taskforce member,” said Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson. “We will do our part to put in jail those who prey on our children.”
The operation took three months of planning, according to the release.
It included “both proactive and reactive cases investigated by the GBI and affiliate agencies with the Georgia ICAC Task Force.
“Proactive investigations consisted of targeting peer-to-peer network users sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), commonly known as child pornography, and undercover chat investigations targeting those that communicate with and arrange to meet what is believed to be a child for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts. Reactive investigations consisted of working CyberTips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that involved the possession, distribution, and/or manufacturing of CSAM,” the release said.
As a result, 34 residential search warrants were served and 281 electronic devices were seized, including cellular phones, tablets, computers, hard drives and various electronic data storage devices.
“More arrests may be forthcoming in this investigation once complete forensic processing of the seized electronic devices have occurred,” the release said.
Anyone with information about these cases, or other cases of child exploitation, is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.