From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
ATLANTA — A multi-state investigation into the sexual exploitation of children concluded in the arrest of 82 people and the recovery of 17 children, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
11Alive News in Atlanta reports a firefighter, a county worker and a business owner were among those taken into custody as part of the operation. The four-month investigation was conducted across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Search warrant executions, undercover operations and sex offender compliance verification visits resulted in the arrests.
The GBI targeted those “seeking out and distributing the most violent sexual abuse material involving infants and toddlers,” according to a news release.
A total of 56 search warrants were executed and 41 knock and talks were conducted in Georgia during Operation Southern Impact III.
James Barfield IV, 51, Atlanta, Ga., home improvement store employee
Dillan M. Bell, 26, Allenhurst, Ga., unemployed
Gerald Chamberlain, 34, Rome, Ga., golf course maintenance worker
Carol Chellew, 56, Jefferson, Ga., county employee
Doug Chellew, 56, Jefferson, Ga., department store employee
Timothy Wayne Diggs, 39, Metter, Ga., information technology specialist
Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, Ga., restaurant employee
Erick Noe Gonzalez, 26, Buford, Ga., landscaper
Erik Gordon, 30, Morrow, Ga., shipping company employee
Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, Ga., staffing company employee
Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, Ga., unemployed
Claude Martin Johnson IV, 21, Augusta, Ga., unemployed
Andrew Kim, 30, Suwanee, Ga., business owner
Jordan Logan, 33, Grovetown, Ga., painter
Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, Ga., railroad worker
Andrew J. Martz, 30, Tyrone, Ga., student
Matthew James McDurmond, 26, Cedartown, Ga., unknown
Terry Menard, 61, Roswell, Ga., multimedia designer
Daniel Joseph Mullinax, 35, Auburn, Ga., unemployed
Justin Lee Myers, 22, Cleveland, Ga., unknown
Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, Ga., construction worker
Michael David Quinn, 44, Roswell, Ga., unknown
Matthew Steven Ramski, 37, Cumming, Ga., graphic design artist
Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, Ala., fireman
Malchijah Robinson, 40, Decatur, Ga., unemployed
David Chris Sammons, 33, Eatonton, Ga., factory worker
Omar S. Sanchez-Viera, 40, Jonesboro, Ga., health supplement company employee
Chad Sitzwohl, 35, Dawsonville, Ga., factory worker
Wille D. Slaughter, 33, Valdosta, Ga., military veteran
Wan Yeung Tang, 45, Cumming, Ga., dishwasher
Tyler Wooten, 21, Sharpsburg, Ga., student