Cusseta Man Charged With Sexual Exploitation of Children After GBI Probe

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Cusseta man on a charge of sexual exploitation of children after a months-long investigation that began with a request from a national tip center.

The GBI charged 60-year-old Thomas Clevenger of Cusseta, in Chattahoochee County, with one count of sexual exploitation of children. The GBI arrested him Tuesday, October 27, in Columbus, in Muscogee County.

The case started in April, when the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit got a request from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The request concerned the possession of child sexual abuse material. The GBI said the investigation led to Georgia and ended with Clevenger’s arrest.

Clevenger was booked into the Chattahoochee County Jail and then transported to the Muscogee County Jail. The Chattahoochee County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department assisted the GBI.

A charge is an accusation. It is not a finding of guilt.

Part of a statewide task force effort

The GBI said the case is part of the ongoing work of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which operates within the agency’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit. The task force works to identify people involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material.

The U.S. Department of Justice created the ICAC Program. It responded to more children and teenagers using the internet, the spread of child sexual abuse material and increased online activity by predators looking for unsupervised contact with underage victims, according to the GBI.

Similar cases have surfaced across the region in recent months. The GBI also arrested an Eatonton man on child exploitation counts in July and a Byron man following a CyberTip investigation in October.

How to report information

The GBI asks anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation to call the CEACC Unit at 404-270-8870. People can also submit a tip through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at Cybertipline.org.

Anonymous tips go to 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or through the See Something, Send Something mobile app.