A registered sex offender has been arrested on sexual exploitation of a child charges.
Donald Wayne Stuart, 54, of Springfield, was arrested Wednesday following a search of a residence on Mockingbird Drive.
Investigators with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force reported they found child pornography on a computer belonging to Stuart.
“Stuart was already a convicted sex offender and has previously served time in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child,” Effingham County Sheriff’s Office spokesman David Ehsanipoor said.
“Protecting our children is one of the highest priorities at the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, and we will continue to pursue these cases in the future with ICAC.” said Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie.
Stuart is currently in the Effingham County Jail awaiting a bond hearing.
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office is a cooperative member of the Georgia Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (ICAC). The ICAC Task Force program was created by the Department of Justice to help State and Local Law Enforcement agencies enhance their investigative response to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children. The program is currently composed of 61 regional Task Force agencies across the nation and is funded by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Georgia’s ICAC Regional Task Force is supervised by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Georgia ICAC Task Force is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies within the State of Georgia.