75-year-old Georgia man arrested for sexual exploitation of children

FOLKSTON – The GBI has arrested a 75-year-old Georgia man for sexual exploitation of children.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) arrested and charged Thomas McKeown, age 75, of Charlton County, Georgia, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, with three counts of sexual exploitation of children.

The GBI CEACC Unit initiated an investigation into McKeown’s online activities after receiving a cyber tipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding possible possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material online. This investigation resulted in a search warrant for McKeown’s home and his arrest. The GBI Southeastern Regional Drug Enforcement Office and Charlton County Sheriff’s Office assisted the GBI CEACC Unit in the execution of this search warrant.

McKeown was taken to the Coffee County Jail.

This investigation is part of the ongoing efforts of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, located within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Division, to identify those involved in the trafficking 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 teens using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the increased online activity of sex offenders seeking unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about other child exploitation cases is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or report the incident through 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.