CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The ongoing online war to protect children from adult predators just netted a few more suspects - this time in Cherokee County.
Investigators went online themselves and found a flood of adults allegedly trying to arrange meetings with children.
Three men were recently arrested after being accused of going online and sexting with who they thought were underage girls, to meet them in person for sex.
But authorities said Michael Hulsey 46, James Wesley Smith, 21, and Wayne Wildermon, 61, were talking with a law enforcement officer, instead.
Twiggs County deputies arrested Hulsey at his home on Saturday. He's accused of sending images of himself and making arrangements for the girl to come to his home.
Smith was arrested for the second time in less than two months for allegedly trying to communicate online with a girl - who actually turned out to be a detective.
The sheriff's office said it arrested Wilderom near Woodstock on Friday. He allegedly traveled to the area believing he was meeting up with two 14-year-old girls for sex.
Investigators with the Internet Crimes Against Children have been cracking down on these types of crimes.
“There are plenty of suspects that are out there, looking for sex with children, and they would do it in a heartbeat," said Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. "And it’s scary, because there’s a lot of ‘em out there.”
Baker said it’s gotten so bad, the sheriff just added another detective to the county’s ICAC squad. They’ve arrested 15 adults, so far, this year.
At the Georgia Bureau of Investigation headquarters, agents at the state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force said across Georgia, authorities are arresting more and more suspected online predators of children every year.
In 2014, there were nearly 200 arrests. Last year, there were more than 300. Authorities said this year through September there were 400 arrests.
Cherokee County is warning parents that predators use all social media to meet children, so that’s where undercover detectives are posing as kids.
"We want to be able to intervene with these individuals, before they make contact with a real child," Baker said.