Fulton County Residents Arrested in Statewide Child Porn Bust

Two residents of Fulton County were among 18 Georgians arrested in a statewide operation against those suspected of producing, possessing, or distributing child pornography.

William Roach, 27, and Mauricio Morales-Garcia, 32, were arrested as part of Operation MasqueRAID and charged with violating the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.

Fulton County jail records show that Roach, a Sandy Springs resident, was also charged with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana when he was arrested on Tuesday. No booking information was on file for Morales-Garcia at the Fulton County jail.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Operation MasqueRAID began in July when GBI agents joined forces with local, state, and federal law enforcement to track child pornography being transmitted over the internet and determine who in Georgia was responsible for producing or distributing the illegal content.

The three month investigation came to a head this week, when 44 search warrants were executed in 31 Georgia counties. According to a GBI press release, 595 digital devices have been seized, along with the 18 arrests mentioned previously. The full list of arrested persons can be read at the GBI’s website.

Each of the 18 arrested persons is suspected of being among the “most prolific offenders of child pornography laws,” the GBI says in its release.

The GBI says that further arrests are expected.