A new arrest in nearby Vidalia involving an investigation into the alleged online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material serves as another important reminder for parents and guardians: knowing what children are doing online — and who they are communicating with — matters.
Children and teenagers have access to more ways to communicate online than ever before, often through phones, gaming platforms, social media and messaging apps. As the GBI notes in the release below, the Internet Crimes Against Children program was developed in response to both the increasing number of young people using the internet and heightened online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with minors.
Parents are encouraged to remain involved in their children’s online lives, talk openly with them about inappropriate contact and make sure they understand that they should tell a trusted adult if someone online asks for photographs, personal information, secrecy or makes them uncomfortable.
Hazlehurst Now is sharing the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s August 20 news release below in its entirety:
GBI Arrests Vidalia Man in Sexual Exploitation of Children Investigation
Reaves was arrested on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, and booked into the Toombs County Jail.
The Vidalia Police Department assisted with the investigation.
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 trade of child sexual abuse material. 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 GBI CEACC Unit at 404-270-8870 or submit a tip via 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, Send Something mobile app.
