18-year-old Newton County teenager arrested in Oklahoma for sexual exploitation of children

An 18-year-old named Marquavius Curtis from Newton County found himself in the custody of the United States Army Criminal Investigative Division at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on Nov. 3. His arrest was prompted by two counts of sexual exploitation of children, following the issuance of arrest warrants by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.

This ordeal began when the GBI CEACC Unit initiated an inquiry into Curtis' online activities, triggered by a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The report indicated possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Subsequently, on Nov. 2, the investigators executed a search warrant at Curtis' residence in Newton County. The next day, he was arrested in Oklahoma, with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division assisting in these operations. Curtis is currently held in an Army detention facility at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, awaiting extradition to Georgia.

This investigation is part of the ongoing efforts of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, operating within the GBI's Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit. The ICAC Program, established by the U.S. Department of Justice, aims to combat the increasing presence of child sexual abuse material on the internet and the heightened activity of online predators seeking unsupervised contact with underage victims.

If you have any information related to child exploitation cases or wish to report a tip, please reach out to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or make a report through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Anonymous 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, Say Something mobile app.