DACULA, Ga. — A former Duluth Youth Softball Umpire was among nine arrested in a undercover investigation targeting online child predators.
James "Jim" Morriss, was arrested and charged under the Computer or Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 2007.
Morriss, of Dacula, worked as a youth softball umpire until at least June of 2019. Barry Sullivan, with the Duluth Softball Umpires Association told 11Alive over the phone, Morriss was suspended once they learned of his arrest on July 29.
Sullivan said he wasn’t aware of any investigation and was never contacted by police. He said Morriss was an independent contractor and went through a background check through USA Softball of Georgia “as he has for 10 plus years.”
“It’s a situation where we use a lot of independent contractors," Sullivan said. "They all are resisted with USA softball and they all go under backgrounds checks and we took the actions we needed to remedy this when we found out, and we have nothing else to say about it."
Morriss will not be acting as an umpire “until this is cleared up,” said Sullivan.
According to USA Softball of Georgia’s website, they “reserve the right to screen any volunteer, contractor and/or employees who has access to children in USA Softball programs.” The screening policy consists of a form, interview, consent to reference and fingerprint for a background check and approval by staff or committee members, according to the website.
USA Softball said any conviction of offenses such as murder, rape, abandonment or endangerment of a child, sexual abuse of a child, online solicitation of a minor, sexual conduct with a minor, child abuse/molestation would result in a denial of eligibility.
Eight others were arrested and charged over a three-day period since last Thursday. Each of them has been accused of traveling from areas around northeast Georgia with the intent of meeting a child for sex.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, those arrested ranged in age from 19 to 53 years old. One person was a convicted murderer who had completed his sentence. When another was arrested, he was in possession of firearms and a machete.
The GBI says that "Operation End Game" was a three-day proactive undercover investigation coordinated by the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the GBI's Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the FBI, the US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia, and the Athens-Clarke County District Attorney's Office.
These are the suspects arrested and charged
- Morgan Andrews, W/M, Maxeys, GA, 27, mold repair technician
- Joseph Kelly, W/M, 44, Statham, GA, assembly line worker
- James Morriss, Jr., W/M, Dacula, GA, 49, sales representative
- Andrew Schafer, W/M, Winder, GA, 53, project manager
- Deointe Sims, B/M, Athens, GA, 25, assembly line worker
- Fredrick Smith, B/M, Royston, GA, 29, fast food/food delivery service employee
- Michael Turner, B/M, Covington, GA, 46, shipping/receiving employee
- Zachary Turner, B/M, Colbert, GA, 19, unemployed
- Noe Villafuerte, H/M, Winterville, GA, 44, landscaper
Alleged child predators caught in 'Operation End Game'
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