Buford man arrested in online child exploitation sting

A Buford man was arrested last week after the child he thought he was chatting with online turned out to be a state investigator, officials said Friday.

Evan Charles Rider, 29, is facing charges of computer pornography and child exploitation in connection with a sting operation conducted by the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit. He was arrested last Thursday by Gwinnett County police.

“Rider’s arrest came after Rider engaged in a sexually explicit online chat with (someone) who he believed to be a juvenile,” the GBI said in a news release.

The investigation was part of the ongoing effort by the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, to combat child pornography and target online predators.

Rider is being held in the Gwinnett County jail without bond.

Anyone with information about his case or other possible cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the GBI at 404-270-8870.

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