Fortson, Georgia Man Pleads Guilty In International Child Exploitation Case

COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Fortson, Georgia man has pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor as a result of an international child exploitation investigation, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Brandon Bywater, 27, of Fortson, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count coercion and enticement of a minor before U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land. Bywater faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and up to life in prison, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to lifetime supervision, and a $250,000 fine. In addition, Bywater will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14, 2021. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our office will pursue federal prosecution to its fullest against those who seek to harm children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I commend the excellent work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and also extend our gratitude to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Centre for Missing and Exploited Children for its critical role launching this investigation and helping to stop a child predator.”

“Great teamwork and the dedication to protecting our most vulnerable resource, our children, led to the successful resolution of this case,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This case reinforces the need for caution when using social media or connecting with people online because you don’t know who you’re interacting with. The more vigilant you are the more you help us prevent these crimes.”

On June 26, 2018, a Kik social media app user “drawingkid500” uploaded child pornography.  This was detected by Kik and forwarded to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. The case was referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) after the RCMP geo-located the IP address of the Kik user to the United States. HSI’s investigation led to a search warrant of Bywater’s residence. Bywater admitted to being Kik user “drawingkid500” and that he sent, received and downloaded images of child pornography, including images of toddlers and infants. Agents discovered 27 images of child exploitation on Bywater’s phone, with 14 involving child pornography of prepubescent children. During a forensic examination of a device seized from the defendant, it was discovered that Bywater had texted with a 13-year-old 7^th grader more than 400 times. In these texts, Bywater initially pretended to be a high school sophomore named “Jack” and enticed the victim to send nude photos of herself. In addition to receiving nude photos of the victim, Bywater sent nude photos of himself to the girl.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals is prosecuting the case for the Government. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Director (Contractor), United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.