By Joe Johnson
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced they have arrested a Watkinsville man for possessing child sexual abuse material related to images of children that investigators found on his electronic devices.
Gerald Glen Fleming, 74, is known for, among other things, being a founding member of the Athens Rogues band. He also is composer of the trumpet solo for the University of Georgia Redcoats Marching Band song “Glory, Glory."
The Athens Rogues was formed in the late 1960s, with most members coming from Athens High School. The group was known for local prom and UGA fraternity party bookings.
It was later reformed as the New Athens Rogues.
According to the GBI, agents arrested Fleming on Tuesday, when members of the agency's Child Exploitation and Computer Unit and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Fleming's residence in the Northwest Woods subdivision of Watkinsville.
"The search revealed evidence that Fleming possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material," the GBI said.
He was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of children and booked into the Oconee County Jail. A Magistrate Court judge denied Fleming bail due to pending additional charges.
According to the GBI, the Child Exploitation and Computer Unit began an investigation of Fleming after receiving a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding his possible illegal online activities.
The investigation led to Tuesday's search of Fleming’s home where numerous electronic devices were seized and processed by digital forensic investigators, the GBI said, adding that the search found evidence that Fleming possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material.
The GBI said the investigation was part of an ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force -- housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit -- to identify those involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material.
The ICAC Program was created by the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators looking to make contact with underage victims.
Anyone with information about cases of suspected child exploitation is asked to contact the GBI's Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or make a report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.
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.