PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation say they arrested a man and charged him with sexual exploitation of children.
Officials say 29-year-old James Arthur Puddick, age 29, of Jasper, Georgia came onto their radar in January 2025.
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Puddick’s online activity came into question after the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that Puddick may have possession of and distributing of child sexual abuse material.
Their investigation, along with the assistance from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI’s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, the GBI’s Special Operations Unit, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted with his arrest.
Puddick was booked into the Pickens County Jail.
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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 here, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
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