Former Cobb Deputy Sentenced On Child Porn Charge: DOJ

ATLANTA, GA — A former Cobb County deputy has been sentenced to prison after being convicted in a child porn distribution case, the Department of Justice's Northern District of Georgia office said Friday.

Peter Bilardello, 52, of Marietta, entered a guilty plea and was sentenced Aug. 29 to five years and 10 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, the DOJ said. He was convicted of one count of distributing child pornography, the DOJ said.

According to the DOJ, he was taken into federal custody following sentencing and must register as a sex offender.

Bilardello was with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office for about 17 years, where he was assigned to the department's Sex Offender Unit, according to the DOJ. While with the sheriff's office, he was responsible for maintaining, verifying and updating the list of registered sex offenders living in Cobb County, according to the DOJ.

The investigation into Bilardello began in August 2021, when the Cobb County Police Department received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about suspected child pornography being distributed online, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a news release.

The information in the report was submitted by social media company MeWe and showed that a MeWe account user from Marietta had uploaded and shared about 12 images depicting young children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, Buchanan said.

Police executed a search warrant on the social media account, which was found to have belonged to Bilardello, Buchanan said. Bilardello was an active deputy at the time.

After executing more warrants, police searched his home and cell phone, Buchanan said. After confirming Bilardello uploaded the images to MeWe, Buchanan said investigators recovered more than 300 images and videos on his cell phone that displayed young children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Buchanan said multiple online chats "about his pedophilic desire for young children" were also discovered.

Bilardello was arrested, and he resigned from the sheriff's office, Buchanan said.

“Bilardello’s actions erode the trust the public places in law enforcement officers,” Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens said in the release. “I commend the Cobb County Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their swift action in investigating these heinous crimes and stopping the spread of child pornography. Justice was served, and this sentence makes clear that no one is above the law, especially those sworn to protect and serve the public.”

The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to protect children from online exploitation and abuse, the DOJ said.