Cherokee County Man Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Children

CANTON, Ga.– On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Anthony Byrd-Ditter, of Cherokee County, GA, was arrested and charged with eight counts (four counts of distribution and four counts of possession) of Sexual Exploitation of Children by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit.

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Byrd-Ditter’s online activity after receiving numerous CyberTipline Reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possible online possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

This investigation led to a search warrant of Byrd-Ditter’s home and his subsequent arrest at his current place of employment.

The GBI CEACC unit was aided in the execution of this search warrant by the Canton Police Department, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Byrd-Ditter was transported to the Cherokee County Jail upon his arrest.

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 Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870 or report 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.