Forsyth, Monroe County, GA (January 30, 2026) - The GBI has arrested and charged Billy Joe Landon Hopper, aged 23, of Forsyth, Monroe County, Georgia, with three counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, one count of Obstruction, and one count of Tampering with Evidence.

In June 2025, the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit began an investigation into Hopper’s online activity after receiving a Cyber Tipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. This investigation led to Hopper’s arrest. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Milledgeville, and GBI Cyber Crime Center assisted with this investigation.

Hopper was arrested on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and booked into the Monroe County Jail.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed with 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 CEACC 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.