Five Houston County men arrested after child sex exploitation operation in Byron

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BYRON – The Peach County Sheriff’s Office and the Byron Police Department conducted a two-day child sex exploitation operation on Thursday, Oct. 2 and Friday, Oct. 3, resulting in 12 arrests.

According to the Byron Police Department, the operation included establishing an online presence on multiple internet platforms with the intention of arresting individuals who were attempting to commit sex acts with male and female minors. BPD and PCSO were trained and assisted by Covenant Rescue Group.

Among the 12 arrested, multiple were from Houston County. Those arrested include:

Shedrick Smith, 33, from Warner Robins
Mikel Williams, 44, from Warner Robins
Amarion Vance, 19, from Warner Robins
Yohannas Hollis, 29, from Perry
Malik Boykins, 29, from Perry
Antwan Devereux, 32, from Macon
Derrick Cooper, 33, from Macon
Dennis Jacques, 65, from Lizella
Joshua Ball, 36, from Dry Branch
Timothy Newman, 49, from Milledgeville
Avery Simmons, 32, from Rincon
Eddie Torres, 24, from Spartanburg, South Carolina

All individuals were charged with Obscene Internet Contact with a Child and Use Computer Service to Seduce, Solicit, Lure or Entice Child to Commit Illegal Act. According to the media release, more charges may be forthcoming as this is an ongoing investigation.

The media release said the citizens of Peach County and law enforcement will not tolerate this activity.

“Combining our resources and working with the Covenant Rescue Group enables our departments to be proactive in protecting our citizens and more importantly, our children,” the media release says.

Covenant Rescue Group is a nonprofit organization founded in 2019 by former US Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and his wife. The couple saw a lack of skills and funding to properly rescue victims and arrest criminals involved in human trafficking and child exploitation. Both shared a passion for children who fall victim to these crimes globally and decided to become active. The media release said they organized their passion, training, and expertise to bring these crimes to an end.

Sheriff Robert Shannon said the work with the Peach County Sheriff’s Office and the Byron Police Department will continue in order to fight crime in Peach County.

Byron Police Chief Wesley Cannon said this operation was a success not only because the two agencies collaborated, but also due to the expertise of the Covenant Rescue Group.

Both Shannon and Cannon said they look forward to doing this operation again.