MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force recently recognized the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office, along with six other participating agencies, Dec. 1 for its work in a child sex sting.

The Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) operates within the Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Its mission is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement, child pornography and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), according to the GBI website.

There are over 220 affiliated law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial entities in the State of Georgia trained in internet crimes. CCSO Investigator Christopher Robinson is the Georgia ICAC lead investigator for the sheriff’s office and works in partnership with Moultrie Police Department Investigator Sgt. Jolicia Tabor.

“Our job as an affiliate, is we get assigned cyber tips. The cyber tips are reported through various social media or internet platforms that detect CSAM, which is child sexual abuse material,” Robinson explained in an interview Dec. 7.

Once the tip’s location is determined, Robinson or Tabor will be assigned the case from the GBI.

“At that point, we will do a lot of intel into the case and try to figure out where the images or videos originated from, who’s uploaded or downloaded them and whatever else is necessary to gather the intel we need,” he said. “Then we attempt to make an arrest on those cases.”

The awards were given to six other agencies during the ICAC’s quarterly meeting in Augusta Dec. 1 including Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County Sheriff’s Office, Roswell Police Department, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and Cobb County Police Department.

The agencies assisted the CCSO in taking down 12 identified potential child predators in “Operation Heartbreak.” The arrests took place in February, but the investigation took several months.

The suspects are accused of engaging in “sexually explicit communication” with children on the internet, arranged to engage in a sexual act with a minor and then traveled to meet them.

“It was a very successful operation that we conducted. Everybody that was arrested in that operation has been indicted federally, so it’s being handled now by the federal court system,” Robinson added.

“Partnerships are essential as we work to protect our children and communities,” the GBI said in a Twitter post Dec. 6.

As task force affiliates, the investigators can host public safety presentations regarding the dangers of online predators, sextortion and cyberbullying.

“We have presentations for children and parents. We can do them for any organizations, churches, schools or anybody that wants a presentation. I’ll be more than glad to do that for them myself or Investigator Tabor,” he said. “The Georgia ICAC is on course to receive over 20,000 cyber tips for 2022 which is a very large increase from the previous year. Every year it grows at an alarming rate.”

Online Safety Tips for Parents and Children

Here are a few online safety tips CCSO Investigator Chris Robinson shared in his interview:

Tips for Parents:

Monitor your child’s online activity as much as possible.

Limit social media contact (especially with strangers).

Be updated on all the applications your children are using because new ones rise every day.

Overall, stay educated.

Here are some tips shared from KidsHealth.org:

For Children:

Never post or trade personal pictures.

Never reveal personal information, such as address, phone number, or school name or location.

Use only a screen name and don’t share passwords (other than with parents).

Never agree to get together in person with anyone met online without parent approval and/or supervision.

Never respond to a threatening email, message, post, or text.

Always tell a parent or other trusted adult about any communication or conversation that was scary or hurtful.

For Parents:

Bookmark kids’ favorite sites for easy access.

Check your credit card and phone bills for unfamiliar account charges.

Find out what, if any, online protection is offered by your child’s school, after-school center, friends’ homes, or any place where kids could use a computer without your supervision.

Take your child seriously if he or she reports an uncomfortable online exchange.