Milledgeville man arrested in GBI's 'Operation Sneaky Peach' probe

Billy Hobbs, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·4 min read
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Sep. 6—A 65-year-old Baldwin County man is among 26 suspects recently arrested across Georgia in cases that accuse them of sexual child exploitation crimes.

The arrests followed an 11-day roundup of suspects engaged in sexual crimes involving children. It was initiated by agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit and with assistance of two dozen local law enforcement agencies from across the state. All of those agencies are part of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

The latest roundup went by the name "Operation Sneaky Peach," according to a press release from Brian Johnston, special agent in-charge of the GBI Child Exploitation Unit.

Baldwin County Sheriff's Office Maj. Brad King, commander of the criminal investigation division, said deputies and detectives assisted GBI agents from the Region 6 Office in Milledgeville in making the arrest of the local suspect. King said deputies and detectives also assisted with search warrants involving the local suspect.

The man was identified as Jimmie Lee Evans of the 100 block of Helen Circle, Milledgeville, according to jail records at the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center. He was actually taken into custody Aug. 23 by GBI Special Agent Ethan Brown on three counts of possession of sexually explicit material depicting a minor. Evans remains jailed.

Johnston said "Operation Sneaky Peach" was a statewide, multi-jurisdictional coordinated effort by all agencies involved to identify and arrest individuals involved in technology facilitated crimes against children.

"'Operation Sneaky Peach' involved three months of planning and included both proactive and reactive cases investigated by the GBI and affiliate agencies with the Georgia ICAC Task Force," Johnston said in the press release. "Proactive investigations consisted of targeted peer-to-peer network users sharing child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography, and undercover chat investigations targeting those that commonly communicate with and arrange to meet what is believed to be a child for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts."

The reactive investigations, meanwhile, consisted of working CyberTips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving the possession, distribution and or manufacturing of child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement agencies with the Georgia ICAC Task Force executed a total of 34 residential search warrants and took three other actions in 28 counties across the state during "Operation Sneaky Peach." As a result, it led to the arrests of 26 suspects.

During "Operation Sneaky Peach," digital forensic investigators previewed 296 electronic devices on scene and seized 281 electronic devices, including cell phones, tablets, computers, hard drives and various other electronic data storage devices, according to the press release.

"Operation Sneaky Peach" also identified 30 children residing in households where online sexual exploitations were taking place, authorities said.

"Four of those arrested during 'Operation Sneaky Peach' admitted to current or prior hands-on sexual offenses against a child," according to the press release.

Aside from the Milledgeville man taken into custody as a result of the statewide criminal investigation, 25 other suspects also were arrested across the state. They included:

* Randy Ho, 22, of Forest Park

* William Ellis, 33, of Cleveland

* Russell Summerville, 38, of Athens

* Jeffery Lynn, 51, of Rossville

* Michael Beane, 58, of Waycross

* James Lail, 48, of Macon

* Jeremy Gunn, 33, of Fayetteville

* Douglas Strong, 64, of Auburn

* Bennie House, 35, of East Ellijay

* Thaddeus Anderson, 34, of Canton

* Paul Angel, 70, of Danielsville

* Trent Bailey, 33, of Hartwell

* Brian Jones, 38, of Roopville

* Ethan Cook, 18, of Canton

* Carl Hill, 42, of Cartersville

* Damian Wright, 22, of Acworth

* Dustin Bohrer, 39, of St. Simons Island

* Carey William Wiley Lewis, 35, of Savannah

* Christopher Williams, 37, of Hinesville

* Kieran Michael O'Connor, 31, of Hinesville

* Trevious Murrell, 35, of Americus

* Jesse Kelley, 31, of Talking Rock.

* David Latta, 52, of Lawrenceville

* Zachary Mitchell Allen, 40, of Decatur

Another suspect, meanwhile, was listed as a minor and served with a juvenile complaint.

Additional arrests may be forthcoming as a result of the investigation once the complete forensic processing of the seized electronic devices has been completed.

Anyone with information about these particular cases or other cases involving child exploitation, is urged to call the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870.