By Joe Johnson
Two defendants arrested during “Operation End Game,” a multi-agency effort targeting and arresting adult perpetrators in the Athens area seeking sex with children, were sentenced to prison, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Charlie Peeler announced.
U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal sentenced Michael Turner, 48, of Columbus, Miss., to 46 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release after Turner pleaded guilty to one count of use of facilities in interstate and foreign commerce to transmit information about a minor. Morgan Kelby Andrews, 28, of Maxeys was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of use of facilities in interstate and foreign commerce to transmit information about a minor. Following their prison terms, both defendants will have to register as sex offenders. There is no parole in the federal system.
“We will never cease working to protect the welfare of Georgia’s children, and we will continue to bring the full force of the law against sexual predators,” Peeler said in a news release. “Operation End Game is one of many investigations here in Georgia tracking down online predators and bringing them to justice. I want to thank our Law enforcement partners both for their work in this operation and for their unyielding efforts to safeguard Georgia’s children.”
“Operation End Game” was a three-day proactive effort centered in Athens in July 2019 to arrest adults communicating with children online and then traveling to meet them for the purpose of having sex. The cases were investigated by the Peeler's office, the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the FBI and the Athens-Clarke County District Attorney’s Office.