A man from Senoia, Georgia, has been arrested after investigators allegedly found more than 20,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material on a hard drive, authorities said.
David Thomas Stevens is being held without bond at the Coweta County Jail and faces eight counts of sexual exploitation of children, according to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began after the sheriff’s office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about suspected illegal material. Investigators identified an online account linked to Stevens and later found further accounts containing prohibited files.
Search of Senoia home
Deputies obtained a search warrant for Stevens’s home in Senoia and seized several electronic devices for forensic examination.
During an initial inspection of a 480-gigabyte solid-state drive, investigators located more than 20,000 images and videos. Authorities said some of the material appeared to involve children believed to be 12 months old or younger.
“Coweta County deputies say they served a search warrant at his house and seized all of his electronic devices,” said Corporal Jacob Herbert of the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office.
The eight charges relate both to material identified through the original tip-line reports and to files discovered during the search, officials said.
Further charges possible
Investigators are continuing to examine the hard drive and the other electronic devices seized from the property. Officials said some folders on the drive had not yet been reviewed.
Additional charges could follow as the forensic examination progresses, while the total number of files held on the seized equipment has not yet been confirmed.
Stevens has not been convicted of the allegations and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Authorities have not released details of any forthcoming court hearings.
