Seventeen people across Georgia were arrested in a recent statewide crackdown on child exploitation, including three men from Northeast Georgia.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), 18-year-old Morgan Albright of Winder, 39-year-old Jonathan Sells of Cleveland, and 37-year-old Thomas Walker of Helen were taken into custody during “Operation Byte Down.”
The GBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit led the operation, working with 33 law enforcement agencies across the state. The focus was on technology-assisted crimes like child pornography and arranging meetings with minors for sex. Officers also investigated tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
What investigators found
During the operation, the ICAC Task Force:
- Carried out 30 search warrants at homes
- Analyzed 137 electronic devices on-site
- Seized 361 devices, including cell phones, tablets, computers, and storage drives
- Discovered 13 children living in homes where online child exploitation was happening
- Found at least one suspect who admitted to sexually abusing a child
Arrests and Charges
The following individuals were arrested and charged with sexual exploitation of children and related crimes:
- Morgan Albright, 18, of Winder – Barrow County Jail
- Elvis Beltran Pineda, 25, of Alpharetta – Forsyth County Jail
- Chaunansheng Fu, 28, of Doraville – DeKalb County Jail
- Dennis Farmer, 65, of Tifton – Tift County Jail
- Christian Havanki, 29, of Pooler – Chatham County Jail
- Kong Hon Yim, 63, of Duluth – Gwinnett County Jail
- Derrick Long, 25, of Kingsland – Camden County Jail
- Richard Jason Lowery, 43, of Augusta – Richmond County Jail
- Jianglin Meng, 26, of Norcross – Gwinnett County Jail
- Steven Ray Mendenhall, 53, of Macon – Bibb County Jail
- Ezequiel Ortiz, 30, of Duluth – Gwinnett County Jail
- Patrick Dulebohn, 43, of Savannah – Chatham County Jail
- Jonathan Sells, 39, of Cleveland – White County Jail
- Todd Shelton, 61, of Acworth – Cherokee County Jail
- Timothy Grimsley, 36, of Tifton – Tift County Jail
- Thomas Walker, 37, of Helen – White County Jail
- Steven Michael Yanizeski, 28, of Evans – Columbia County Jail
More Arrests Possible
The GBI says more arrests may follow as investigators continue analyzing the seized devices.
Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
