Investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) have arrested a Hall County man who allegedly possessed and shared multiple videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) earlier this year.
Blake Lawrence Edwards, 32, who lived at a residence on Walnut Grove Way in northern Hall County, is charged with 108 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Included in those charges are 106 counts for alleged possession of CSAM videos and two counts for publishing videos across a peer-to-peer file-sharing platform, a news release from the sheriff’s office states.
According to the sheriff’s office, the videos were stored on two external hard drives found at Edwards’ residence.
Investigators first became aware of Edwards’ online activity in March when he allegedly shared the sex abuse material.
“They executed search warrants for the residence on May 14 and seized multiple electronic devices, including the two hard drives where the videos were discovered,” says Hall County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer B.J. Williams.
Williams says there is no evidence that any of the CSAM material was created locally. She says Edwards was not home when the warrants were executed. After issuing a lookout for Edwards, authorities took him into custody at his home Friday, August 9, without incident.
Williams says he may face additional charges as the electronic devices seized from his home are processed forensically.
