An Eatonton man was arrested on March 3 on six counts of sexual exploitation of children.
Matthew Marrero-Garcia, 42, of the 400 block of West Marion Street, Eatonton, was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at his place of employment in Baldwin County, according to a press release from the GBI. He was booked into Baldwin County jail and then transferred to Putnam County jail at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said that at the time of his arrest, Marrero-Garcia was living in a house with another adult in Eatonton. Sills emphasized that Garcia has lived in multiple locations around the country.
In February, the GBI received a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possession of child sexual abuse material. As a result, the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit began an investigation into Garcia’s online activity.
Their investigation led to Garcia’s arrest and a search warrant executed at his home in Eatonton. Sills said that after the arrest was made public, a call came into his office with additional information, which he turned over to the GBI.
Garcia has no prior criminal history, Sills said.
“Their (GBI’s) investigation is active and is still ongoing,” he added.
The investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed with the GBI’s CEACC Unit, to identify those involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Program was developed by the U.S. Dept. of Justice in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.
Anyone with information regarding child exploitation should contact the GBI’s CEACC Unit at 404-270-8870 or via the Cyber Tipline at cybertipline.org.
Anonymous tips can be submitted at gbi.georgia.gov/submittips-online, or by calling 1-800-597-8477.