18 MEN ARRESTED
1. Earl Benson - 68, Dawsonville, GA, contract employee2. Joseph Brantley - 59, Waynesboro, GA, auto parts store employee3. Jeremy Converse - 37, Dallas, GA, tow truck driver4. Casilvo Valdivi Crisanto - 42, Glynn County, fast food restaurant worker5. Isidro Delibrado - 49, Marietta, GA, flooring installer6. Richard Ellis Ford - 42, Rossville, GA, fast food worker7. Jaco Armani Griggs - 29, Covington, GA, unemployed/disabled8. Tyler Kauffman - 23 Marietta, GA, unknown9. Jason Kingry - 43, Atlanta, GA, construction worker10. Bobby Justin Lynn - 29, Buford, GA, retail worker11. Uriah McCullers - 37, Bethlehem, GA, Deputy12. Julio Gomez Munoz - 28, Roswell, GA, restaurant worker13. Samuel Oh - 30, Hinesville, GA, military personnel14. Juan Cesar Olvera - 38, Athens, GA, restaurant worker15. Matthew Payton - 32, Smyrna, GA, fast food worker16. Christopher Rinker - 46, Hamilton, GA, LAN engineer17. David Christopher Sammons - 29, Eatonton, GA, aerospace company employee18. Colby Harrison Waldroup - 23, Monroe, GA, unknown
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released the names of 18 arrested people Wednesday who either possessed, produced or distributed child pornography.
The occupations of the arrested range from military to an aerospace company employee to unemployed, and are from all over Georgia. A local man, Richard Ellis Ford, a 42-year old fast food worker from Rossville, Ga., was among the arrested in the investigation called Operation Secret Guardian, the release said.
"The targets of Operation Secret Guardian were those who produce or who create the demand for production of child pornography - which is essentially photographic evidence of the sexual assault of a child," the release said. "By collecting and distributing this material, they create the demand for production of child pornography."
The 3-month operation involved 33 law enforcement agencies across the state - including the Walker County Sheriff's Office - and 232 digital devices were seized as evidence, the release said. Additional arrests may be coming, too, after all the evidence is examined.
"The investigators who work child exploitation cases are some of the most dedicated law enforcement officers there are, despite the psychological toll this type of investigation exacts on them," GBI Special Agent in Charge Debbie Garner said in the release.
Garner is also commander of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which is comprised of more than 200 members of law enforcement across the state. The release said the task force has arrested more than 1,500 since its creation in 2002.