Cherokee County Man Charged with the Sexual Exploitation of Children

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. – On Friday, July 15, 2022, Joseph Ruben William Wade Thomas, age 29, of Cherokee County, was charged with one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children, two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, and two counts of Sodomy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Thomas’ online activity after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the online sexual exploiting children via the internet and allegations of hands-on sexual abuse against children.

This investigation led to a search warrant of Thomas’ home and his subsequent criminal charges.

The GBI CEACC unit was aided in this investigation by the Canton Police Department and the Cobb County Police Department.

Thomas is currently in custody at the Cobb County Jail on separate charges stemming from Cobb County.

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 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 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.