Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said that child traffickers are exploiting social media and online apps to target kids, and his office is actively working to protect children and prosecute offenders.
The issue of online child exploitation has gained attention following the conviction of Reed Cohen Skelton, a former ICU nurse from Bowersville. According to a <a href="https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-02-14/carr-hart-county-man-convicted-trafficking-teen-targeting-victim-snapchat”>press release by Carr, Skelton was convicted of trafficking a 16-year-old girl in Fulton County after grooming her over several months using social media apps such as Snapchat. He later transported the victim to a hotel where he engaged in commercial sexual activity and created digital files of the abuse.
“This is the disturbing reality that we’re seeing online, where traffickers are targeting our children for abuse and exploitation… Whether it’s Snapchat or Roblox or any other app, child predators will find a way to communicate with their next victim, and we’re doing everything in our power to stop them… Our team is on the ground leading this fight, and we won’t rest until every child is safe and every trafficker is brought to justice,” Carr said according to Georgia.gov.
The investigation into Skelton’s actions involved multiple agencies including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, Cobb County Police Department, Gainesville Police Department, Hart and Hall County Sheriffs’ Offices, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol, and the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. The case highlights coordination among law enforcement agencies to address online child exploitation according to a press release by Carr.
On Feb. 12, 2026, Skelton pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking for sexual servitude and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. He was sentenced to 25 years—10 years in prison followed by strict probation—and surrendered his nursing license. He is also required to register as a sex offender. The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case; since its establishment in 2019 it has secured more than 70 convictions and helped over 200 children according to a press release by Carr.
Carr was appointed as Georgia’s attorney general by then-Governor Nathan Deal in 2016 and re-elected in November 2022. Since taking office he has focused on issues such as human trafficking, gang activity, and opioid misuse—including establishing Georgia’s first Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit according to Georgia.gov.
