A Paulding County man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he admitted to possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.
Michael Peter Marrero, 42, pleaded guilty to 61 counts of sexual exploitation of children in a Paulding County court July 16, according to the sheriff’s office.
Under a non-negotiated plea, he was sentenced to 40 years, with 20 years to be served on probation as a registered sex offender after his release.
Marrero was arrested in March 2016 after a yearlong investigation into his internet activities, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said.
When deputies and detectives served a search warrant at his home, “it was discovered that Marrero was actively online attempting to delete evidence,” he said.
It apparently didn’t work.
The GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit was called in and was able “to recover most of the files Marrero attempted to delete,” Henson said.
The sheriff’s office is continuously investigating child pornography cases, he said. Anyone with information on similar crimes in Paulding County should call the Crimes Against Children Unit at 770-445-6105.
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