US Marshals find 39 missing children in Georgia in 'Operation Not Forgotten'

The nine suspects face a total of 26 charges, including sex offender violations

By Michael Ruiz | Fox News

A two-week mission to rescue endangered and missing children in Georgia led to the recovery of 39 juveniles and the arrests of nine suspects, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Thursday.

“The message to missing children and their families is that we will never stop looking for you,” Donald Washington, the director of the Marshals Service, said in a statement.

“Operation Not Forgotten” led to the rescue of 26 missing children and the safe location of 13 more, according to authorities.

Operation Not Forgotten resulted in the rescue of 26 children, the safe location of 13 children and the arrest of nine people. (Photo by: Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals)

The nine suspects face a total of 26 charges, including sex offender violations.

The Marshals assisted state and local authorities in a number of separate cases during the operation. The federal authorities periodically assist police with federal resources to help clear separate missing persons cases in a single operation.

Authorities said the missing children were at high risk of child sex trafficking, exploitation and abuse – and some suffered from medical and mental health conditions.

The 2015 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act gave the Marshal's broader authority to assist state and local police departments tracking down missing children, regardless of whether fugitives or sex offenders are involved in the case, officials said.

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Just last year, the Marshals helped recover almost 300 missing children, according to authorities.

Human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, occurs in every state – victimizing mostly children and women.

Authorities said the missing children were at high risk of child sex trafficking, exploitation and abuse – and some suffered from medical and mental health conditions. (Photo by: Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals)

“When we track down fugitives, it’s a good feeling to know that we're putting the bad guy behind bars,” said Darby Kirby, chief of the Missing Child Unit. “But that sense of accomplishment is nothing compared to finding a missing child.”

“Operation Not Forgotten” involved months of planning before it began, authorities said. Other agencies involved include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia’s Office of the Attorney General, the state’s departments of Family and Children Services and of Juvenile Justice, the FBI and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

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There were 417 human trafficking cases in Georgia last year, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

(Photo by: Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals)

In neighboring Florida, which has roughly double Georgia’s population, there were 896 human trafficking cases in 2019.

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On the federal level, the Justice Department (DOJ) secured convictions against 475 human traffickers in 2019, according to the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Of those, 454 involved sex trafficking, and only 21 involved labor.

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Anyone who suspects human trafficking can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.

VSU Dean Among 14 Arrested for Child Sex Offenses

VALDOSTA, Ga. – On Monday, February 10, 2020, a press conference was held at the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office to address “Operation Broken Arrow,” a multi-agency child sex crimes investigation.

Fourteen people were arrested over a four-day period beginning Thursday, Feb. 6, including 44-year-old Valdosta State University’s College of Science and Mathematics Dean, Keith Walters, 44.

Walters came to Valdosta in January 2019 from Northern Kentucky University where he served as the chair of the chemistry department for seven years, according to an article in VSU Spectator. Walters position was created when the newly created college of Science and Mathematics resulted from the decision to split the College of Arts and Sciences into two.

On VSU’s website Walter’s name has already been removed.

Today Walters, along with 13 others, is being held in the Lowndes County Jail is a result of a proactive online undercover investigation coordinated by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

Lindsay Marchant, Assistant Commander of the GBI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, was in Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk’s office on Monday answering questions from the media about “Operation Broken Arrow.”

“Lowndes County is one of the most active ICAC affiliates,” Marchant said. “We had numerous contacts…about 120 contacts, and 14 that actually traveled.”

Marchant said these incidents were done on common apps, ones that are familiar to everyone, and none on the “dark web,” where child porn rings have been known to proliferate. When Marchant was asked which apps they were, she responded, “I’m not going to name all the applications but they’re the most popular ones that are out there right now.”

Marchant said that this particular operation had nothing to do with younger children who have been involved in child porn rings in the area.


ICAC Assistant Commander Lindsay Marchant at LCSO press conference
Marchant had little to say about the investigation, other than parents should be aware what their children are doing and to advise their children not to be trusting of just anyone they communicate with on the various popular social media apps targeted by predators.

Today VSU’s Walters, along with 13 others, are being held in the Lowndes County Jail as a result of a “proactive online undercover investigation,” as Marchant referred to it, that involved a total of 18 agencies, that included Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC), the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

The ages of the victims were 13-14 years of age, and the oldest of the offenders was 57.

“We do not go fishing for these people,” Marchant added. “They come to the apps and through our undercover operation 14 have been arrested, between the ages of 24-57.”

Marchant added that a couple were re-offenders and a majority had criminal histories.

Lowndes Co. Sheriff Ashley Paulk was pleased with the outcome of Operation Broken Arrow: “We’ve had several human trafficking cases we’ve made in the last 6-8 months. We know there’s a problem out there,” Sheriff Ashley Paulk said during Monday’s press conference (listen to full interview in above video). “I’m glad that the Governor’s wife (Marty Kemp) has helped get more personnel for the GBI and more funding…I was very excited about the operation. We’ve always had a good relationship with them (ICAC)…they work great with us. It was very fruitful, getting 14 people off the streets…the furthest one away was from Douglas, and we had one from South Carolina who was working here. I don’t care where they come from, as long as we get them away from our children…I’ve got five children and they’re grown but they’ve got children. It’s a bad situation. Something that really needs to be looked at. I look forward to working with them on some more cases.”

Each was charged with O.C.G.A. 16-12-100.2, Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007 and/or O.C.G.A 16-5-46, Trafficking of Persons for Labor or Sexual Servitude. Additional charges and arrests may be forthcoming.

Operation Broken Arrow took several months of planning and every offender arrested believe they were going to a location to meet with a child and engage in prearranged sex acts.

The Georgia ICAC Task Force had previously received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on at least one person who was arrested during Operation Broken Arrow. That same person had been previously arrested on peeping tom charges. Two persons were arrested in possession of a firearm and two persons were arrested in possession of illegal narcotics. At least two other arrestees were investigated for sex related crimes in the past. Nineteen mobile devices and several additional electronic devices were seized as evidence during the operation.

The goal of “Operation Broken Arrow” was to arrest persons who communicate with children on-line and then travel to meet them for the purpose of having sex. Additionally, the operation targeted those that are willing to exploit children by purchasing sex with a minor. On-line child predators visit chat rooms and websites on the internet, find children, begin conversations with them, introduce sexual content and arrange a meeting with the children for the purpose of having sex. The children these predators target are both boys and girls. Since 2014, the Georgia ICAC Task Force has arrested over 150 people in similar operations.

Over the course of the operation, investigators had more than 120 exchanges with persons on various social media or internet platforms. During many of these exchanges, the subjects directed conversations towards sex with persons they believed to be minors. Over 40 cases were established that met the threshold for arrest. Fourteen of those cases were concluded with arrests. In some of these cases, the subject introduced obscene or lewd content, often exposing the minor to pornography or requesting the child take nude or pornographic images for them. About half of the exchanges involved websites used for dating, socializing, or even websites used for classified advertisements.

Although some websites promote themselves as being for “adults-only” it is not uncommon for law enforcement to work cases in which children access these sites, establish profiles claiming to be older, and then find themselves vulnerable to victimization, harassment, blackmail, or assault. Several subjects were identified as communicating simultaneously with multiple investigators posing as minors. Such activity confirms what investigators uncover conducting these types of investigations: that many predators specifically seek out minors on such websites to groom them as potential victims for sexual contact.

Along with those agencies who participated in the planning and coordinating of the operation, sixteen additional law enforcement agencies participated in “Operation Broken Arrow” as members of the Georgia ICAC Task Force. These agencies were:

Alpharetta Police Department
Atlanta Police Department
Floyd County Police Department
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
GBI-Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC)
Glynn County Police Department
Gwinnett County Police Department
Hall County Sheriff’s Office
Homeland Security Investigations
Johns Creek Police Department
Lilburn Police Department
Marietta Police Department
Polk County Police Department
Savannah Police Department
United States Air Force – Office of Special Investigations
Woodstock Police Department

The proactive online investigation was a coordinated effort among the participating law enforcement agencies to combat this activity. Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk stated, “the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is proud to partner with the GBI and other federal, state, and local area law enforcement agencies in these continuing efforts to identify and apprehend those who prey on our most vulnerable victims. Thanks to this coordinated four-day effort, multiple predators have been removed from our streets and are no longer free to victimize our children.”

GBI Special Agent in Charge, and Commander of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Debbie Garner remarked “The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is one of our most active member agencies. We appreciate their daily efforts to combat child exploitation. This type of cooperation and collaboration is invaluable in the effort to keep our children safe from predators who seek to harm them. This successful operation was a true partnership between all the agencies involved. We will continue to aggressively work together to protect our children.”

The following were arrested and charged in Lowndes County as part of “Operation Broken Arrow”:

Dave Vincent Almon, W/M, 43, retail manager
Billy Stephen Carter, W/M, 57, truck driver
Eric Bernard Copeland, B/M, press operator
Walter Lee Curry, B/M, 33, laborer
Jamian Hogan, B/M, 34, retail associate
John Henry Hursey, W/M, 45, carpenter
Eugene Andega Mainah, B/M, 35, unemployed
Keith Morrison, B/M, 43, truck driver
Wyman Rene Phillips, W/M, 36, electrician
Wilford Sermons, B/M, 28, customer service representative
Josue Trejo, H/M, 31, forklift driver
Bronson Jamari D. Tripp, B/M, 24, retail associate, Keith Walters, W/M, 44, university Dean Justin Na’eem Warren, B/M, 24, student

The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of 240+ local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, other related criminal justice agencies and prosecutor’s offices.

The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the U. S. Department of Justice and managed and operated by the GBI in Georgia, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases.

This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC Program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

By helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography, the ICAC program delivers national resources at the local level. Arrests made by the Georgia ICAC Task Force have been steadily increasing over the last 3 years.

In 2017, The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 350 arrests. In 2018, The Georgia ICAC Task Force made 307 arrests. In 2019, the Georgia ICAC Task Force made 474 arrests. The Georgia ICAC Task Force has made over 2,000 arrests since its inception in 2002.

Super Bowl security: 33 arrested on sex-trafficking charges

By Alexis Stevens

With the Super Bowl just days away, federal law enforcement officials announced Wednesday they have arrested 33 people in metro Atlanta on sex-trafficking charges. Authorities said they had also rescued four victims as part of the operation.

Advocates have warned that large sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, are attractive to those in the sex-trafficking trade. They say the crime can surge when lots of free-spending travelers are around.

The 33 arrests came during the past four days, according to Nick Annan, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge. But Annan declined to discuss specifics of the cases, citing ongoing efforts that will continue throughout the week.

“We plan to continue what we’re doing,” Annan said.

More than 40 local and state law enforcement agencies, along with 25 federal agencies, are assisting with security for the Super Bowl. Officers and security members have been visible throughout downtown Atlanta where events have been held, and those efforts will continue until hours after the big game. So far, all of the months of planning for keeping fans safe in Atlanta has paid off. And those efforts will ramp up as the game gets closer and more visitors arrive.

On Jan. 23 and 24, Homeland Security assisted in a joint operation in Douglas County using undercover officers, social media sites and local hotel rooms, the Douglasville Police Department said Wednesday. Sixteen people were arrested, according to police, and the youngest person involved was 17. The timing of the crackdown was related to the Super Bowl, police said.



Cathy Lanier, NFL Chief Security Officer, speaks during the overview of public safety press conference for Super Bowl 53 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on Wednesday. (Alyssa Pointer)

Investigators have also found more than 2,000 counterfeit items, according to Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security. Neilsen didn’t discuss details about the phony items found. But police have warned fans about fake tickets being sold.

Although the NFL puts special holograms and other features on tickets that help distinguish real ones from fakes, most people won't be able to tell the difference. Police warn ticket-buyers to purchase only from a reputable source.

As part of the massive security operation, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration conducted low-altitude helicopter flights over downtown Atlanta and areas around Buckhead earlier this week, and those will resume Sunday before the game.

Key law enforcement leaders, including Atlanta police Chief Erika Shields, spoke about security efforts during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Georgia World Congress Center. Shields said security planning for the Super Bowl began over two years ago, and so far everything is going as planned.

Shields encouraged those heading to the game or other Super Bowl events to plan ahead and rely on public transportation. For those who insist on driving, secure valuables ahead of time, she said. Call 911 or alert an officer to anything suspicious. But above all, Shields encouraged fans to have fun.

“This is a fantastic city,” Shields said. “We really want people to come and just have a great time.”

School bus caravan raises awareness of child sex trafficking

By: Claire Simms, FOX 5 News

Six dozen bright yellow school buses wound their way through the streets of Atlanta Wednesday to raise awareness of the problem of child sex trafficking in Georgia.

"It's a difficult reminder that these statistics represent lives and these lives, our kids are not invisible," said Bob Rogers, president of the nonprofit group Street Grace.

Each of the 72 buses represented 50 children in Georgia who are sold into sex slavery each year for a total of 3,600, according to the organization.

Street Grace and the Georgia Attorney General's Office partnered to put on the awareness event.  They, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, have also launched the "Demand an End Georgia Initiative" to help stop child sex trafficking by going after customers.

"By Super Bowl Sunday, February 3rd all buyers and traffickers will know that Georgia does not tolerate those who seek to exploit our state's children," said Attorney General Chris Carr.

Carr said that educating the public about child sex trafficking and the warning signs is a huge part of combating the problem.

For more information on how you can help, visit www.StopTraffick.com. 

Father who worked as Santa arrested after bodies of 2 kids found in yard

Three other family members have also been charged

Wednesday, December 26th 2018, 10:51 AM EST

GUYTON, Ga. — A Georgia father and three other family members have been arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of two children who were found buried in the man’s backyard.

Siblings Mary Crocker and Elwyn Crocker Jr. were both discovered Dec. 20 after someone called authorities with concerns about the wellbeing of Mary, according to the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.

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The 14-year-old had not been seen in weeks and her older brother had not been seen since November 2016 when he was 14 years old, Time reported. Neither teen had ever been reported missing.

Their father, Elwyn Crocker, along with the children’s stepmother, Candice Crocker, step-grandmother, Kim Wright, and her boyfriend, Roy Anthony Prater, were charged with concealing a death and cruelty to children.

“I’ve been doing this 41 years, and a while ago I almost broke down in tears,” Jimmy McDuffie, Effingham County sheriff, said during a press conference. “It’s that bad. I cannot understand how you do children like this. It’s horrible.”

Crocker reportedly led authorities to the children’s graves. He worked as a Santa Claus at Walmart until recently, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Neighbors told WTOC-TV the children seemed to mostly stay inside the home. Mary was often seen doing yard work.

“Other kids said at school they could tell stuff was wrong with her hands. They were red,” said Gary Bennett. “Kids would see her and ask what was wrong, and she wouldn’t ever say anything. She wouldn’t open up to anybody.”

A third child who lived at the home and has special needs was taken into custody.

Original Article

21 arrested across Columbus in online child predator sting

COLUMBUS, Ga. — An undercover sting to root out child predators ended early Monday morning with a total 21 men behind bars.

Operation Hidden Guardian is an initiative by state and local investigators to use fake social media and phone app profiles operated by officers to root out predators.

Columbus Police Department Chief Ricky Boren says all 21 suspects agreed to travel to or around Columbus to meet who they thought were underage kids for sex.

Boren’s release says the operation first initiated when the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) and the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) first contacted local law enforcement back in August to organize a sting.

Hidden Guardian started on November 9 and over the course of the investigation, more than 600 messages were exchanged between undercover officers and online profiles.  The release says around 400 of the exchanges were initiated by predators seeking a child and steering conversations towards sexual topics. The release says at times the adults exposed the “minor” to obscene, pornographic images or asked the “child” to take nude photos.

Over the past five days, the 21 suspects who either lived in Columbus or traveled to the area for sex with a minor were arrested.

Boren says the suspects range from 22 to 55 with all kinds of professions — from a local car wash attendant to a school custodian all the way from North Carolina.

“There is no profile, there is no standard child predator,” says Debbie Garner, the commander of the Georgia ICAC.

Garner says it’s not uncommon for such predators to have inappropriate encounters with children in their past, even if they have no prior convictions.

“Most often they admit to prior sexual contact with children in the past. As the commander of the task force, that’s very important to me. It tells me we are actually arresting the people who are preying on children and so that these operations really do work,” she says.

“You know there was one person who basically admitted that they had been thinking about touching children and that they felt as though that would have happened in the future. They were almost happy that they were caught.”

Garner suggests parents utilize resources like NetSmartz.Org, an site operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The site features tips to keep children’s information safe and signs to watch out for to avoid predators. NetSmartz.Org even has videos from survivors who tell their terrifying encounters with online predators.

Some of the tips include not talking to anyone you don’t know in real life, even if their profile age seems similar to your own.

“It may look like they are a 16-year-old boy or a 16-year-old girl and that’s not actually who they are. you know a lot of times kids will say well they’re a kid too and they’ll accept their friend request,” Garner says. “All they have to do, all a child predator has to do is get one kid to accept their friend request and then the other kids see that they’re friends with them, and then they accept their friend request, so it’s things like that we try to teach kids.”

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Missing boy found after 15 years:

Missing boy found after 15 years

By: LIZ BUCKTHORPE | via AP 
Published: October 25, 2012

ATLANTA, Ga. --  A father's search for his biological son ended when a Georgia detective called to tell him about a teenage boy police say was confined to his bedroom for years with little food.

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the AP reports that Tony Wawrzynski said he hadn't seen his son, now 18-year-old Mitch Comer, since the child was 3 year old.

After learning from a detective that police believe Comer was abused for years in his suburban Atlanta home, Wawrzynski can't hold back tears. He says he had no idea where the boy was since his girlfriend and the child left the Arizona home they shared 15 years ago.

A grand jury has indicted the teen's stepfather, Paul, and mother, Sheila Comer, on charges of cruelty to children, false imprisonment and kidnapping.

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Georgia Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Assault and Injure Inmates:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Second Former Georgia Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Other Officers to Assault and Injure Inmates

Darren Douglass-Griffin, 35, a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to a two-count bill of information charging him with conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inmates and falsification of records in a federal investigation, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced today.

In connection with his guilty plea, Douglass-Griffin admitted that he and other correctional officers assaulted and injured inmates in a series of incidents at the prison in 2010.   Douglass-Griffin indicated that correctional officers beat three inmates in separate incidents in order to punish them.   One inmate was beaten so severely that he had to be transported from the prison in an ambulance.

Douglass-Griffin further acknowledged that he and other correctional officers tried to cover up MSP officers’ involvement in beating and injuring inmates.   Douglass-Griffin stated that other MSP officers told him to write false reports and to stick to their cover story when speaking with investigators.

Douglass-Griffin faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.  

“The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the constitutional rights of inmates, and use their official position to try to cover up their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez.

“We expect the men and women who work in our state prisons to exemplify professionalism and integrity – and the vast majority do,” said Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.   “But when a small group of guards violate the civil rights of inmates in the facility and then actively try to cover that up, my office will have no tolerance for their conduct.”

This case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

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