COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A former Cobb County deputy has been arraigned on federal charges of distribution and possession of child pornography.
Peter Bilardello, 51, is accused of sharing child pornography through social media while he was still on the job. He was employed with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department for 15 years and worked in the sex offender unit.
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According to U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, Bilardello uploaded and shared approximately 12 images showing children under 12 years old in sexually explicit conduct to social network MeWe in 2019. The site advertises itself as more secure with personal information than most websites.
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Someone reported the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who reported them to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Cobb County police executed a search warrant for the MeWe account as well as for Bilardello’s home and cellphone and confirmed it was Bilardello who uploaded and shared the images.
Investigators also recovered more than 200 images and videos depicting young children in sexually explicit ways.
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“Bilardello allegedly shared child pornography through social media while he was employed as a law enforcement officer,” Erskine said. “The victimization of children is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, and distributing images of child sexual abuse compounds the harm. It is especially troubling that these crimes were allegedly committed by someone in a position of public trust.”
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cobb County Police Department.
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