CANTON, Ga. — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story.
A man who was sworn to protect the public is now in jail accused of exploiting children and distributing child pornography.
Grady Sanford, 56, was arrested and charged Tuesday, following the execution of a search warrant on his Windsor Green Court home in Canton just after 7:30 a.m.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, its investigation into Sanford began after it received a report on Nov. 6 from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. The center reported child sex abuse images had been uploaded to the internet using a popular email platform from the IP address assigned to Sanford's address.
Sanford, after his arrest, was booked into the Cherokee County Jail, where he now faces two counts of distribution of child pornography.
Sanford, according to officials, was a chief deputy with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. After his arrest, Sheriff Ron Freeman said he immediately terminated Sanford's employment.
“To say this is a shock is a gross understatement," Freeman said in a statement. "Our trust and that of our community has been betrayed."
Freeman said the high standards with the sheriff's office allow no room for this type of crime - especially in law enforcement.
"We intentionally set our standards high at Forsyth County. Regardless of rank, every employee must meet those moral and legal standards," he said. "I’ve made a commitment to be transparent, even when one of our own employees does wrong. No one is exempt and no one is above the law."
Meanwhile, the GBI is asking anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit at 404-270-8870.