After an investigation lasting more than a month, Bulloch County Sheriff’s investigators arrested a Nevils-area man on child pornography charges, said Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.
A Paulding County Sheriff’s detective, Lenny Carr, contacted local authorities Feb. 12 after discovering Anthony Michael “Mike” Futch, 37, Jim Futch Road, “had downloaded a significant amount of child pornography,” he said.
Carr was working with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) , which utilizes investigators and officers from a variety of law enforcement agencies nationwide, said Bulloch County Sheriff’s Inv. Bill Black, who led the local investigation that led to Futch’s arrest.
After Carr’s tip, “The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office conducted an independent investigation into the matter,” Anderson said. The investigation resulted in a search warrant executed March 16 by “members of the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, Drug
Suppression Team, and Uniformed Patrol Division” at the Jim
Futch Road residence, he said.
Investigators found numerous files containing “evidence of child pornography,” he said. “Evidence recovered from the scene has been turned over to the FBI for analysis.”
While searching the home investigators also seized several firearms, and charged Futch’s mother, Billie Ann Futch, 55, with four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, he said.
Mike Futch was taken into custody Friday, charged with 67 counts of sexual exploitation of children, Anderson said. Further charges are possible, he said.
Black said the tip from Carr stemmed from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Department’s partnership with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) .
“The Paulding County Sheriff’s Department is an affiliate of the GBI ICAC team,” Carr said.
Just as some people use the Internet to illegally download music files, some people also use similar methods to download pornography, he said.
Officers working with ICAC use computer programs to monitor these child pornography interactions, and “ can see who is trading suspected child porn,” he said.
The computer programs allow users to research the suspect’s activity and determine identity as well as the address to which the illegal pornography is being downloaded, he said.
When ICAC officers reach that point, the case is turned over to local law enforcement authorities, he said.
Billie Futch was released on a $8,000 property bond, according to jail records. Mike Futch remains in the Bulloch County Jail without bond.
A Paulding County Sheriff’s detective, Lenny Carr, contacted local authorities Feb. 12 after discovering Anthony Michael “Mike” Futch, 37, Jim Futch Road, “had downloaded a significant amount of child pornography,” he said.
Carr was working with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) , which utilizes investigators and officers from a variety of law enforcement agencies nationwide, said Bulloch County Sheriff’s Inv. Bill Black, who led the local investigation that led to Futch’s arrest.
After Carr’s tip, “The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office conducted an independent investigation into the matter,” Anderson said. The investigation resulted in a search warrant executed March 16 by “members of the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, Drug
Suppression Team, and Uniformed Patrol Division” at the Jim
Futch Road residence, he said.
Investigators found numerous files containing “evidence of child pornography,” he said. “Evidence recovered from the scene has been turned over to the FBI for analysis.”
While searching the home investigators also seized several firearms, and charged Futch’s mother, Billie Ann Futch, 55, with four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, he said.
Mike Futch was taken into custody Friday, charged with 67 counts of sexual exploitation of children, Anderson said. Further charges are possible, he said.
Black said the tip from Carr stemmed from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Department’s partnership with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) .
“The Paulding County Sheriff’s Department is an affiliate of the GBI ICAC team,” Carr said.
Just as some people use the Internet to illegally download music files, some people also use similar methods to download pornography, he said.
Officers working with ICAC use computer programs to monitor these child pornography interactions, and “ can see who is trading suspected child porn,” he said.
The computer programs allow users to research the suspect’s activity and determine identity as well as the address to which the illegal pornography is being downloaded, he said.
When ICAC officers reach that point, the case is turned over to local law enforcement authorities, he said.
Billie Futch was released on a $8,000 property bond, according to jail records. Mike Futch remains in the Bulloch County Jail without bond.