GBI Arrests Brooklet Man in Sexual Exploitation of Children Investigation

Statesboro, Bulloch County, GA (December 18, 2024)- On November 14, 2024, the GBI arrested and charged Charles Oneal, age 38, of Brooklet, Bulloch County, Georgia with Sexual Exploitation of Children.

The GBI CEACC Unit began an investigation into Oneal's online activity on July 22, 2024, after receiving a Cyber Tipline Report 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 for Oneal's home and his subsequent arrest. The Bulloch County Sheriff's Office assisted with the search warrant and arrest of Oneal.

Oneal was booked into the Mitchell County Jail.

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.