[ September 16, 2021 ] On Monday, September 13, 2021, Pickens County resident, Roland Buchanan, age 67, was arrested and charged with one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit the Offense of Human Trafficking, one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit Aggravated Child Molestation, one count of Pandering, and one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children by the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. Information was received regarding Buchanan?s potential involvement in a transaction involving the exchange of currency for sexual contact with a child.

An investigation was conducted by the GBI CEACC Unit, the Hall County Sheriff?s Office, the Pickens County Sheriff?s Office, and the Homeland Security Investigations Office in Dalton, GA. This investigation led to a search warrant at a home in Jasper, GA, and resulted in the collection of evidence revealing that on multiple occasions, Buchanan was offering currency to an adult in exchange for sexual contact with a child who resided outside of the United States.

Buchanan was transported to the Pickens County Jail upon his arrest.

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 child pornography trade. 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 pornography, 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. 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.