Arp accused of sending videos of children
Richard Shane Arp, 45, of 257 West View Drive, Blue Ridge, was arrested last week by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.
Arp is charged with three counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material) and one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material), a statement from Natalie Ammons of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), said. Warrants show all those charges are felonies.
The warrants accuse Arp of distributing videos of varying lengths depicting prepubescent female and male children.
Ammons’ statement said the GBI CEACC Unit began investigating Arp’s online activity after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online possession and distribution of images depicting child sexual abuse material.
The NCMEC information led to a search warrant being executed at Arp’s home September 29 when digital devices were seized and Arp arrested.
The GBI was assisted in executing the warrant by the Georgia State Patrol and Fannin County Sheriff’s Office.
After his arrest Wednesday, September 29, bond was set for Arp at $100,000 by Fannin County Chief Magistrate Judge Brian Jones. He remained in jail Monday.
This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the 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.
Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870. 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.