Georgia Youth Ministry Volunteer Arrested For Child Sex Exploitation

According to authorities, following a two-day sweep that ended in seven charges, a youth ministry worker in a remote northwest Georgia church reportedly assaulted and tutored a youngster in how to act in sexual films.

Austin Perkins, a student ministry volunteer at Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Cave Spring who also drove for the church's bus ministry, had one child rescued from his home.

Perkins allegedly taught the child how to act in films
and also engaged in child molestation, according to the police complaint.

A 16-year-old juvenile was among those arrested, as was a 65-year-old man who was also charged with methamphetamine possession.

Perkins was an unpaid student ministry worker who quit two weeks ago for reasons unrelated to the probe, according to Floyd County Baptist Association Director of Missions Tim Smith.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children division received cyber tips, which led to search warrants for equipment and the examination of objects on the scene.

The sexually exploitive content involving children confiscated was created in the United States and spread internationally via social media, internet chat groups, and messaging apps.

The police stated that some of the graphic depictions involved minors aged 2 to 12.