GBI arrests 5 Columbus suspects for alleged child pornography, a sixth for molestation
A state task force over the past two months has arrested six Columbus men on charges related to child pornography or child sexual abuse, alleging one of the suspects had been collecting explicit images for more than 20 years.
In a news release Friday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation listed these suspects:
- Jesus Christian, 41, who’s unemployed.
- Phillip Hawkins Quinn, 26, a student.
- Artis Haygood, 33, a manufacturing inspector.
- Kenneth Haygood, 17, a student.
- Thomas L. Holley, 52, unemployed.
- Jesus Leon Christian, 37, unemployed.
Christian was charged with two counts of aggravated child molestation and one count of child molestation, said the GBI, which reported the others were arrested for violating Georgia’s Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act.
Investigators were acting on tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving “explicit child sexual abuse images,” according to the GBI, which with other agencies began planning the operation five months ago.
The agency said one suspect previously has pleaded guilty to sexual contact with a minor, and another had been under investigation for child molestation before.
“One person arrested indicated they had been seeking and collecting child sexual abuse images for over 20 years,” said the GBI, which did not specify which suspect. “This subject had amassed a collection of over two terabytes of child sexual abuse imagery and was also pretending to be a young girl online and manipulating minors into sending nude images which he then shared with others.”
One terabyte is equal to 1,000 gigabytes of data, or a trillion bytes.
Authorities examined 50 digital devices while serving 10 search warrants and seized more than 40 electronic devices as evidence. The equipment seized will be further examined and likely lead to more charges, the GBI said.
The operation involved the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, its Special Enforcement Team, Columbus police and Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The GBI unit got more than 7,000 “cybertips” last year involving child pornography or other sexual exploitation, it said. Through August, it got more than 7,580 cybertips.
So far this year, the task force has found 80 children housed with suspects accused of viewing child pornography, and identified 29 of them as victims of sexual abuse, it said.
The task force made 350 arrests in 2017. In 2018, 307 arrests in 2018, and 474 in 2019.