Two Columbia County men charged with sexual exploitation of children
Two Columbia County men recently were charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with possessing child pornography.
Taylor Randall Shellito, 34, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children. Joshua Paul Barnhill, 40, is charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of children.
Authorities arrested Shellito and Barnhill on Oct. 19 and they were booked into the Columbia County jail. Questions regarding their incarceration status were not immediately answered by authorities on Monday.
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The arrests were a result of two unrelated investigations being conducted by the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, according to a news release. Both investigations stemmed from tips received by the GBI from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children referencing the possession of child pornography.
GBI investigators searched Barnhill's and Shellito's homes with the assistance of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: 2 Columbia County men charged with possessing child pornography
