Johns Creek, GA (February 21, 2022) – On Friday, February 18, 2022, a residential search warrant was executed by the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit with assistance from the Johns Creek Police Department. GBI Agents and Digital Forensic Investigators searched the home of Joshua Newsome, age 43, in Johns Creek, Georgia. The search warrant was in reference to a proactive online investigation by members of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force into individuals sharing files of child sexual abuse material via the internet. During the search of Newsome’s residence, Agents seized electronic devices used by Newsome to both possess and distribute child sexual abuse material. As a result, Newsome was arrested for six counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Distribution of Child Pornography) and one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children (Possession of Child Pornography). 

Newsome was transported to the Fulton County jail.  

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 pornography, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about these cases, or 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.