32-year-old White County man arrested for child abuse, GBI says

WHITE COUNTY, GA. – A White County man was arrested Sunday on multiple charges related to child abuse and child sexual exploitation, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

Christopher Tench, 32, was charged with four counts of child molestation and six counts of child sexual exploitation, according to the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit. Tench was arrested following an investigation that began after the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office reported his possible involvement in the online possession and production of child sexual abuse material.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Tench’s home in White County, where he was taken into custody. The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, White County Sheriff’s Office and GBI Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office assisted in the investigation and arrest. Tench was later booked into the White County Jail.

This arrest is part of an ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which operates within the GBI’s CEACC Unit. The task force works to identify individuals involved in the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material online. The ICAC program, established by the U.S. Department of Justice, was designed in response to the increase in online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with minors.

Anyone with information about other cases of child abuse is encouraged to contact the GBI’s Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at the GBI website, or through the “See Something, Send Something” mobile app.