“Operation Southern Eagle,” a compliance check of 71 convicted sex offenders in Bulloch County, netted two arrests, authorities announced Tuesday.
    One man was caught with child pornography on his computer, as well as a probation violation, while another was found in violation of his parole.
    John Dennis Baille, 33, Courtney Way, was found with child pornography on his computer during the sweep, said Scottie Daniel, senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service’s Southern District Sex Offender Investigations Coordinator’s office.
    Bulloch County sheriff’s deputies arrested Baille on charges of sexual exploitation of children by using a computer and took him to the Bulloch County Jail.
    Daniel said 28 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the sweep.
    The U.S. Marshals Service collaborated with the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (funded by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s COPS grant), Statesboro Probation, Georgia State Parole, Department of Corrections, FBI and others to conduct the sweep last week.
    Daniel said 28 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the sweep.
    “Operation Southern Eagle was a two-pronged effort of compliance and enforcement,” he said.  “The focus of the compliance operation was a comprehensive physical verification of every offender, their residences, their employment and compliance with their registration requirements.”
    All 71 offenders were located and their compliance, aside from the two arrested, was verified. Of the 71 offenders, six were also on state parole and 35 were on state probation.
    “This operation was a continuation of the remarkable cooperation between the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Department of Corrections Probation Office and the Georgia State Parole Office,” Daniel said. “These offices routinely coordinate their efforts when keeping track of registered sex offenders in the Bulloch County area. The addition of the other participating agencies allowed for the verifications to be conducted safely in a concentrated time period.”
    The initiative is the second of many operations planned for the future in an effort to protect and safeguard the community and “most especially, the safety of our children,” he said.