ATLANTA — Mike Philips, who was renovating the house next door, seemed stunned when Channel 2’s Aaron Diamant told him that all the commotion was part of a state-wide child pornography sweep coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
"That's horrible. They need Jesus Christ in their life. That's exactly what they need," Phillips said.
Later, Channel 2 Action News had access to the GBI’s command center where agents tracked the progress of 30 agencies serving dozens of warrants Wednesday.
There were 44 warrants executed that led to 18 arrests.
According to the GBI, the following people were arrested:
Ian Squires, 30, of Spaulding County
William Roach, 27, of Fulton County
Jonathon Earls, 24, of Habersham County
Clark Bowen, 47, of Rabun County
Chauncey Jones, 34, of Clayton County
Jose A. Clemente-Sanchez, 31, of Elbert County
Mauricio Morales-Garcia, 32, of Fulton County
Dwight Davis, 20, of Polk County
William Rosado-Vazquez, 49, of Douglas County
James Petry, 80, of Fannin County
Devin Lewis, 42, of Upson County
Christian Harris, 23, of Cobb County
Rodney Cook, 49, of Clarke County
Jerry Griffin, 73, of Forsyth County
Glasford Simpson, 36, of Gwinnett County
David Hornick, 37, of Union County
George Adams, 18, of Wilcox County
Thomas Lagomasino, 22, of Forsyth County
"It does take a lot of logistical coordination to pull this off," Debbie Garner with the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit said.
Garner told Diamant the operation targeted Georgians who possess, distribute and produce child porn.
"These children were victimized at the time that photo was taken, and they're re-victimized every time that picture is viewed, traded, uploaded to the internet, downloaded for someone else to look at,” Garner said.
Garner said planning began back in July with agents trolling the internet for who she called the state's "most prolific collectors."
"It is not uncommon for us to find thousands of images of child pornography on someone's computer," she said.