Kevin Waldron (Pierce County Sheriff's Office)
BLACKSHEAR, Ga. - A Pierce County grand jury has indicted a Blackshear man on multiple felony charges, including human trafficking and statutory rape, for allegedly abusing a 15-year-old girl and selling videos of the abuse.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced the indictments Thursday following a coordinated investigation by local and state law enforcement agencies.
Pierce County criminal charges
What we know:
A grand jury handed down an indictment last Friday against 46-year-old Kevin Waldron. The Blackshear man faces one count of statutory rape, one count of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, five counts of sexual exploitation of children, two counts of aggravated child molestation, and one count of illegal tattooing of a minor. State prosecutors assert that Waldron molested the teenager and recorded the encounters to sell the video files to other individuals for monetary gain.
Ongoing state investigation
What we don't know:
The attorney general's office has not released further details regarding how many people purchased the recorded videos or the specific amount of money exchanged during the transactions. Law enforcement officials have not publicly identified any potential buyers or clarified if additional suspects face charges connected to the active case.
Georgia anti-trafficking efforts
The backstory:
Local authorities first arrested Waldron in April before state prosecutors presented evidence to the grand jury to secure the new indictment. The specialized Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit was established in 2019 and has since secured more than 70 criminal convictions while rescuing or assisting over 200 children across the state.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who detailed the grand jury findings and criminal charges, as well as investigative updates from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Blackshear Police Department, and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.