Athens Man Arrested for the Sex Exploitation of Children

Athens, GA (December 29, 2021) – On Tuesday, December 28, 2021, Sean Hopkins, age 34, of Athens, GA, was arrested and charged with two counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Distribution of Child Pornography) and two counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Pornography). Warrants were obtained for Hopkins following the execution of a search warrant at his home on Monday, December 20, 2021, conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit and the Athens Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD). Hopkins was not in Georgia at the time of the search warrant. The search warrant was in reference to a proactive online investigation by members of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force into individuals sharing files of child sexual abuse material via the internet. The investigation revealed that over the course of approximately three months, Hopkins was sharing files of child sexual abuse material. During the search warrant at Hopkins’ residence, evidence related to this crime was seized.

Hopkins was transported to the Clarke County Jail upon his arrest.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the child pornography trade. The ICAC Program, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, was developed 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 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. 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.