Clayton County Man Charged with the Sexual Exploitation of Children

Riverdale, GA (August 22, 2022) – On Friday, August 19, 2022, Marco Mendoza Escalante, age 24, of Clayton County, Georgia, was arrested on 3 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Escalante’s online activity after receiving a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possible online possession of child sexual abuse material.  This investigation led to a search warrant of Escalante’s home and his subsequent criminal charges. The GBI CEACC unit was aided in the search warrant execution of Escalante’s home and in the arrest of Escalante by the Clayton County Police Department and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office. 

Escalante was taken to the Clayton 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 trade of child sexual abuse material. 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 Unit at 404-270-8870.

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.