WALKER COUNTY, GA — A North Georgia man was sentenced to 300 years in prison and 20 years of sex offender probation after being convicted of sexual exploitation of children, officials said.
Walker County authorities said the case began in Catoosa County during an unrelated investigation after investigators received a tip involving 68-year-old Mark Anthony Williams.
According to officials, electronic devices reviewed during that investigation contained child sexual abuse material and communications between Brian Lawson and Williams.
Officials said the investigation began when Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a tip that Lawson was downloading child sexual abuse material. When his devices were searched, officials said they contained illegal material and communications between Lawson and Williams in which they exchanged images and videos involving children.
Investigators said Williams is accused of sending images of children in public settings and that the communications included discussions involving sexual abuse of children.
Catoosa County investigators later obtained warrants for Lawson, who lived next to and worked at a local grocery store.
According to Walker County officials, investigators seized 418 DVDs containing more than 12,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material, along with 12 USB drives, a computer, and multiple hard drives. Officials said forensic analysis confirmed the devices contained more than 266,000 files.
Detectives said Williams admitted during an interview that he had been collecting child sexual abuse material for more than 20 years.
“Prosecuting child predators like Williams remains a top priority for our office,” Acting District Attorney Deanna Reisman said. “We thank Senior ADA Wolfe and our law enforcement partners for their dedication to the pursuit of justice for the thousands of children, both known and unknown, who were victimized by Williams.”