A Clarkesville man is in jail on child pornography charges in what investigators are calling the biggest case of its kind ever in Habersham County.
Deputies arrested 40-year-old Christopher Lee Webb Tuesday. They charged him with one of thousands of potential counts of child sexual exploitation for possession of child pornography.
The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office says Webb had more than 8,000 images of suspected child porn in his Yahoo email account. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tipped off local investigators to the alleged crime.
After receiving NCMEC’s complaint in mid-April, Habersham’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force began investigating the case. Task force members reviewed the complaint, related subpoenas, and Yahoo Account information before contacting Webb at his residence in Clarkesville.
The investigation
On June 7, investigators interviewed Webb and say he admitted to creating numerous fictitious Yahoo Mail accounts, possessing a large amount of child pornography, and trading those images with others online.
“Webb also told investigators that he destroyed the laptop he was using to perpetuate this behavior when he believed his activity was being detected,” says HCSO Investigator and Public Information Officer Kevin Angell.
Although some of the evidence was apparently destroyed, investigators say they seized a laptop and several cell phones from Webb’s home while executing a search warrant on June 7. Those devices will be forensically examined and processed.
“We’re currently looking through more than 8,000 suspected child pornographic images he stored on his Yahoo mail account,” says Angell. “This is the largest case like this that we’ve worked.”
At this time, Webb has been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and ICAC Task Force intend to work with the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office to seek additional charges. Based on Webb’s interview, those charges may include child pornography distribution and destruction of evidence.
He could also face federal charges.
Investigators are sharing information about the case with the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial consideration.
According to Angell, Webb does not have a criminal history.
“This activity has been going on for more than a decade and he’s flown under the radar that entire time,” he tells Now Habersham.
While it is still early in the investigation and more charges are pending, Angell says Webb could potentially face decades in prison if convicted.
‘Always on the lookout’
This is the second child pornography-related arrest in Habersham County within the past week. On June 3, Habersham ICAC investigators arrested 40-year-old Michael Blake Thomas of Alto on four counts of sexually exploiting children.
Deputies arrested a Baldwin man on similar charges back in May.
“We have not identified any cases at this point where they’ve actually produced new pornographic images or videos, but we’re always on the lookout for that,” says Deputy Angell, “especially since the last two cases like this that we’ve worked dealt with so many fictitious social media accounts being created.”
Currently, Webb remains in the Habersham County jail awaiting a bond hearing as the investigation continues.
