82 men, 5 from NC, arrested in multi-state child exploitation ring

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — A total of 82 people were arrested and 17 children were rescued or identified as victims during a mutually coordinated operation between eight southeastern states, according to a news release from the North Carolina SBI.

Seven of those arrested traveled for the purpose of meeting and having sex with a minor.

Below are the five arrests in North Carolina:

• David Kimball, Cary Police Department, charged with sexual exploitation of a minor
• Paul Sullivan, Cary Police Department, charged with sexual exploitation of a minor
• Joshua Hall, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, charged with indecent liberties with a minor
• Christopher John Authement, arrested in Nash County by SBI, charged with 2nd degree sexual exploitation of a minor
• George Beall, Homeland Security Investigations – Charlotte, charged with federal probation violations, possession of child pornography

The joint proactive operation, Operation Southern Impact III, was coordinated by 10 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces in those eight states and focused on persons who possess and distribute child pornography and those who are sexually exploiting children in other ways using technology and the internet.

The planning for Operation Southern Impact III began approximately four months ago and culminated in three days of investigative actions to include search warrant executions, undercover operations, arrests and sex offender compliance verification visits in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

A total of 171 law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies participated in the operation.

The arrestees’ range in age from 20 to 70 years old.  Some of their occupations included restaurant employee, firefighter, shipping company employee, small business owner, railroad company employee, store clerk, IT specialist, youth minister, construction worker, graphic designer and students.

During the operation, 134 search warrants were executed, and 215 knock and talks were conducted in those eight states. During those search warrants and knock and talks, 861 digital devices were previewed and 1,613 digital devices were seized.  Of those devices seized, 203 were mobile phones.

These investigative actions resulted from both reactive cases such as cybertips received by each ICAC Task Force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and proactive cases such as peer-to-peer investigations and proactive, online undercover investigations.

Daily each task force receives numerous cybertips from NCMEC related to online child exploitation.  During Operation Southern Impact III, the investigations related to 248 cybertips were advanced through the execution of these search warrants and knock and talks, and through the seizure of digital devices which will be forensically processed in the coming weeks

“Much of what the ICAC Task Force does happens quietly, with little or no information about our work released to the press because of the sensitive investigations of crimes against young children,” said North Carolina ICAC Task Force Commander Alan K. Flora. “It’s often impossible to tell our stories without revealing the identities of minors who have already been through traumatic events.  This three-day operation provides a snapshot of the work that the ICAC Task Force is doing round the clock, seven days per week.  Predators are real, and they walk among us.  The ICAC Task Force works diligently every day to stop those who prey on our most innocent citizens.”

North Carolina agencies participating in the operation were the NC SBI, Homeland Security Investigations (Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Cary offices), United States Probation, United States Marshals Service, United States Attorney’s Office – Middle District NC, Cary Police Department, Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Gaston County Sheriff’s Office, Avery County Sheriff’s Office, Gastonia Police Department, Forest City Police Department, Transylvania Police Department, Mayodan Police Department, Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, Winston-Salem Police Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Stokes County Sheriff’s Office, Carolina Beach Police Department, Greensboro Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Waynesville Police Department and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

North Carolina officers executed nine search warrants and conducted 38 knock and talks during the three-day operation.  This resulted in six arrests on charges pertaining to the sexual exploitation of minors.  Investigations in those cases are ongoing, details of the arrests will be made at the local level by the agencies directly involved.