Cartersville Man Arrested In Child Pornography Case

CARTERSVILLE, GA -- A Bartow County man and his 17-year-old fiancé have been charged following a multi-state investigation into allegations involving child pornography and exploitation. The investigation began when the Bartow County Sheriff's Office received a tip that Cartersville resident Shawn Ryan Budovic, 27, was "possibly" in possession of child pornography, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

The sheriff's office sought out the help of the GBI and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations as part of its probe into the case. A search warrant was executed Oct. 31 by the local, state and federal entities at Budovic's home on McKaskey Creek Road.

Agents seized electronic devices that allegedly contained "homemade" child pornography images, the GBI said. It was later determined that Budovic’s fiancé, Kayla White, 17, of Trenton, Michigan, had actually taken the images of three children, ages 3,4, and 9, and forwarded them to Budovic, the state agency added.

Upon receiving this news, HSI-Detroit and the Trenton Police Department responded immediately and located White and the three children.

Budovic was arrested and charged with felony computer pornography and child exploitation and was
booked into the Bartow County Jail. The GBI notes additional federal charges are expected. White has been charged with child abuse in the first degree in Michigan. Police in Trenton, Michigan, continue the investigation into the images allegedly manufactured by White and the safety of the minor children.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children 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
pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with
underage victims.

Anyone with information about this case or any other cases of child exploitation should contact the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270- 8870.

Photo: Shawn Ryan Budovic. Credit: Bartow County Jail