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Three DeKalb County residents accused of child exploitation

Crime and public safety DeKalb County Trending

Three DeKalb County residents accused of child exploitation

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DeKalb County, GA — Three DeKalb County residents are accused of child exploitation following a GBI-led operation dubbed “Happy New Year.”

The operation resulted in 11 arrests in several counties.

“The GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit and the GBI’s Special Enforcement Team (SET) partnered from January 23-26, 2023, to execute multiple residential search warrants on unrelated child exploitation investigations,” a press release from the GBI says. “The operation was the result of months of planning … The CEACC Unit, the host agency for Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force, executed a total of 17 search warrants in Clayton, DeKalb, Newton, Spalding, Gwinnett, and Fulton Counties during this four-day period.”

The people arrested in DeKalb County are:

— Jeoffrey Jenkins, age 18, of Lithonia, accused of Sexual Exploitation of Children (2 counts). Jenkins bonded out of the county jail on Jan. 26.

— Brent Felix, age 50, of Greater Decatur, accused of Sexual Exploitation of Children (4 counts). Felix bonded out of the county jail on Jan. 28.

— La’Quantay Stevens, age 23, of Greater Decatur, accused of Sexual Exploitation of Children (5 counts). Stevens bonded out of the county jail on Jan. 29.

It’s not clear whether the accused have attorneys. To see our policy on naming crime suspects, click here.

“The cases involved CyberTips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, individuals using computer peer-to-peer file sharing networks for the collection and dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), and individuals engaged in sexually explicit or obscene internet contact with a child,” the GBI press release says. “As a result of the search warrants, over 230 digital devices were previewed on scene by GBI digital forensic investigators assigned to the CEACC unit. Many of these devices were seized and will be subjected to full digital forensic processing, which will likely result in more arrests.”

The Gwinnett County Police Department, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Atlanta Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted int he operation.

“Operation ‘Happy New Year’ is part of the ongoing effort by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade,” the press release from GBI says. “The ICAC Program, created by the U. S. Department of Justice, 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.”

There is also a way for the public to provide tips about suspected cases of child exploitation.

“Anyone with information about these cases or other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org,” the press release says. “Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.”

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