A 17-year-old from Flowery Branch has been arrested after investigators say they found sexually explicit videos involving children on the teen’s cell phone.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) sent a cyber tip on March 9 to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), notifying investigators of the alleged crime. NCMEC said a video depicting child pornography was being shared from a Snapchat account linked to a Hall County address. Investigators traced the account to Rocco John Dodero.
“The initial investigation determined on Dec. 2, 2022, Dodero shared the video, which contained images of children believed to be between the ages of 4 and 13, engaged in sexually explicit activity,” says HCSO Public Information Officer B.J. Williams.
HCSO personnel, along with members of the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit, went to Dodero’s home on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, to serve a search warrant. They seized Dodero’s cell phone and CEACC located additional child sexual abuse material on the device, Williams says.
Dodero has been charged with 14 counts of felony sexual exploitation of children. The suspect remains in the Hall County Jail with no bond at this time.
