GBI arrests 3 Columbus men on child porn charges in sting operation
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents served four search warrants and arrested three Columbus men this week in an operation targeting child pornography.
The operation by the agency’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit was the result of “numerous independent and unrelated cybertips” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the GBI said in a news release Friday.
“Those cybertips involved the possession and/or distribution of explicit child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as child pornography,” it said.
The agency, which was aided by the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, identified those arrested as:
- Andrew Paulino, 33, charged with sexual exploitation of children for having child pornography, sexual exploitation of children related to the distribution of child pornography, sexual exploitation of children related to the production of child pornography, and child molestation.
- Christopher Tarnowski, 35, was charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of children for possessing child pornography.
- Elijah Gallion, 23, of was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children for possessing child pornography and two counts of sexual exploitation of children for the distributing child pornography.
“An arrest hasn’t been made relating to the fourth warrant at this time,” GBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tony Lima wrote in an email, regarding the four search warrants agents served.
“This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade,” the GBI said.
Anyone with information on these or other cases of child exploitation may contact the GBI unit at 404-270-8870, submit tips by calling 1-800-597-8477, or send them online to https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 10:01 AM.