Greater Decatur, GA — A Greater Decatur resident is one of 26 Georgians who were recently arrested as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation.
Zachary Mitchell Allen, 40, was arrested in Gwinnett County and is accused of enticing a child for indecent purposes and obscene internet contact with a child. He has bonded out of jail, records show. Attempts to reach Allen or his attorney for comment were unsuccessful. The Gwinnett County Police declined to confirm Allen’s arrest and arrest records were corroborated via an open records request to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 24 agencies that are part of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force participated in the operation.
“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,” a press release from GBI says. “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. Proactive investigations consisted of targeting peer-to-peer network users sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), commonly known as child pornography, and undercover chat investigations targeting those that communicate with and arrange to meet what is believed to be a child for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts. Reactive investigations consisted of working CyberTips received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that involved the possession, distribution, and/or manufacturing of CSAM.”
Police agencies executed 34 residential search warrants as part of the operation.
“Digital forensic investigators previewed 296 electronic devices on scene and seized 281 electronic devices to include cellular phones, tablets, computers, hard drives, and various…
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