Ray City, GA (November 29, 2021) – On Tuesday, November 23, 2021, Curtis Dwayne Watson, age 60, of Ray City, Berrien County, GA, was arrested and charged with one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material) by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Watson’s online activity after receiving two cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online possession and distribution of images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This investigation led to a search warrant at Watson’s home, where digital devices were searched and seized, and Watson was arrested. The GBI Douglas Office and the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office assisted in executing the search warrant. Watson is a registered sex offender in Berrien County.
Watson was transported to the Berrien County Jail upon his arrest.
This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) 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 sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.
Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870. 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.