A Douglas County man has been charged with child molestation among other offenses after he was caught trying to quickly solicit sex from a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl. Evan Porter Smith, 53, was apprehended by Coweta County deputies who were prepared for his arrival in a break room, ready to take him into custody for his online misdeeds.
The incident escalated rapidly, with Smith transitioning from online chat to attempted real-world contact within just hours. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, "Within three-and-a-half hours of conversation on social media, the investigator had multiple felonies as well as the male trying to meet the next day in person," Coweta County Sheriff's Sgt. Toby Nix said. Despite clear statements by the undercover investigator about being only 12, Smith chose to share explicit materials and to arrange a meeting.
Upon his arrest, Smith was slapped with charges that included sexual exploitation of a minor and distributing obscene materials, in addition to child molestation. A report by BNNBreaking highlighted the warning from authorities urging parents to closely monitor their children’s interactions on the internet and to be vigilant of the varied grooming tactics used by predators. Sgt. Nix noted that "In some instances, it can be months, and months, and months of grooming, but in instances like this, it was three-and-a-half hours. That’s how quickly these predators act."
The case underscores a broader issue, with reports of suspected child exploitation soaring to over 36 million in 2023 alone, as per statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Law enforcement is calling for parents to absolutely educate themselves and their children on how to stay safe online to prevent similar occurrences. It is clear from incidents like these that internet safety is an area requiring unwavering attention and responsiveness from both guardians and those in charge of law enforcement to safeguard kids from the clutches of online predators.
