Two area men were sentenced recently for separate offenses in the courtroom of Judge J. Randal Hall inside the Prince H. Preston Federal Building in Statesboro.
On Sept. 18, the former owner of a Toombs County fitness and tanning business was sentenced to federal prison for the sexual exploitation of teenagers ranging from 13 to 17 years old.
Judge Hall, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Georgia, sentenced Walter Joey Drew, 43, of Kite, to more than 27 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation, Heap said.
Judge Hall also ordered Drew to register as a sex offender, pay a $1,500 fine, pay $800 in special assessments, and serve 20 years of supervised release upon completion of the prison term.
“Drew used his behind-the-scenes access to surreptitiously capture sexually exploitive images and videos of minor children innocently using his gym and visiting his home,” said Margaret E. Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners, defendant Drew is being held responsible for his reprehensible actions.”
As described in court documents and at sentencing, Drew used his smartphone to produce images and videos of minor children.
This included recording a 13-year-old girl identified in the indictment as “Minor Victim 5,” while drying off nude with a towel in a bathroom of his home in Toombs County. He then captured a screenshot from the video depicting the victim’s breasts and genitals and uploaded it to his Apple iCloud account.
Drew also recorded a video of Minor Victim 5 in various stages of undress in a private tanning-bed room at the now-closed Legacy Performance Center in Lyons, where Drew was an owner. He saved multiple sexually exploitive screen captures from the video and uploaded them to his iCloud account.
Drew was accused of recording at least six other teenage children in the federal case and faces related state charges in Toombs County. He also faces additional charges for separate conduct at a previous residence in White County, Georgia.
“This case is a disturbing reminder of the lengths predators will go to exploit children,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “The GBI remains steadfast in our commitment to protect the most vulnerable and to work alongside our local, state, and federal partners to ensure that those who commit these crimes are held fully accountable.”
Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.
In another unrelated case, Jonathan Mann, 39, of Vidalia pled guilty in April 2025 to filing a false tax-related document for the 2018 tax year.
On Sept. 18, Judge Hall sentenced Mann to 12 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Also, Mann was ordered to pay $84,638 in restitution representing the amount of tax he owed on the unreported income.
As described in court documents and at sentencing, Mann failed to inform his tax preparer of $266,048 in income received by his construction business between 2017 and 2019.
Instead, Mann deposited the checks in his bank account or cashed them at the bank where the check was drawn. Mann’s conduct resulted in him paying $84,638 less in federal income tax over that three-year period.
“My office is committed to pursuing individuals that knowingly seek to avoid contributing their share of federal taxes and instead shifting to their fellow citizens the burden of keeping our government functioning,” Heap said.