GBI makes child sexual exploitation arrests in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties

By Joe Johnson

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that on Thursday its agents arrested suspects in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties for sexually exploiting children.

The GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit arrested and charged Taylor Harding Gibson, 31, of an unspecified area of Clarke County, with six counts of sexual exploitation of children.

The GBI said that on May 23, the CEACC Unit initiated an investigation in reference to the distribution of child sexual abuse material to other individuals via an online peer to peer file sharing program. This investigation led to a search of Gibson’s home in Macon Highway and his subsequent arrest.

Investigators reportedly found images of girls as young as seven in sexually abusive situations with adult males.

Also on Thursday, The GBI said that the CEACC Unit arrested and charged Salvador Martinez, 28, of Oconee County with six counts of sexual exploitation of children.

The CEACC Unit began an investigation into Martinez’s online activity after receiving a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. This investigation led to a search warrant of Martinez’s home and his subsequent arrest. The GBI CEACC unit was aided in the execution of this search warrant by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

The investigations are part of an ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) 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, created by the U. S. Department of Justice, was developed 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 searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or 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