Fortson man sends more than 400 texts in international child exploitation case, FBI says
A 27-year-old Fortson man pleaded guilty in federal court to coercion and enticement of a minor as a result of an international child exploitation investigation, according to a news release from the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Brandon Bywater faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, supervised release of not less than five years and up to lifetime supervision, and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Bywater will also be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act.
“Great teamwork and the dedication to protecting our most vulnerable resource, our children, led to the successful resolution of this case,” Special Agent Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in Georgia and Alabama, said in the news release. “This case reinforces the need for caution when using social media or connecting with people online because you don’t know who you’re interacting with. The more vigilant you are, the more you help us prevent these crimes.”
Court records show that a Kik social media user named “drawingkid500” uploaded child pornography on June 26, 2018. Kik detected this activity and notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. After RCMP tracked the IP address of the Kik user to the United States, the case was referred to Homeland Security Investigations.
After obtaining a search warrant for Bywater’s residence, Bywater told authorities he was “drawingkid500” and that he sent, received and downloaded 27 images of child exploitation, with 14 involving child pornography of prepubescent children, the release states.
During forensic examination of a device seized from the defendant, officials found Bywater had texted with a 13-year-old more than 400 times. In these texts, Bywater pretended to be a high school sophomore named “Jack” and enticed the victim to send nude photos of herself. Bywater also sent nude photos of himself to the victim, the release states.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. The case was also investigated by Homeland Security Investigations alongside the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
