Months after the rescue of a 14-year-old who had been missing for seven weeks, four people were arrested around metro Atlanta on human trafficking charges, according to state officials.
The investigation that led to the arrests began in January when the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, which operates from the office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, received an alert from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.
The alert helped investigators find and rescue the 14-year-old in late February, Carr said in a news release Tuesday. Few details were released about the investigation, but the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit was able to secure arrest warrants out of Fulton County for four people related to the case. The first two warrants were obtained Nov. 2 and the next two were secured Dec. 6.
All four defendants were charged with human trafficking for sexual servitude, Carr said. Two are facing additional charges connected to the state office’s investigation as well as other charges for unrelated incidents.
Jody Netter, 35, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is charged with rape, child molestation and cruelty to children in addition to the aforementioned trafficking count, according to Carr. Netter was already in custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on multiple charges when state investigators obtained the arrest warrant related to the 14-year-old’s trafficking case.
Netter has remained in the Cobb jail since he was booked Aug. 31 on counts of felony drug possession, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon, jail records show. He is being held on $11,000 bond.
Courdale Thayer of Decatur faces counts of cruelty to children, false imprisonment and aggravated assault, in addition to human trafficking. He was previously booked into the Fulton County Jail on Feb. 27 on two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of theft by taking and one count of making terroristic threats, online jail records show.
Two women, Jahaundria Seabron and Raphel Olivia Sewer, are being held in the Fulton jail on one count each of human trafficking. Sewer was booked Nov. 19, while Seabron was booked Friday.
All four defendants face potential life sentences if convicted, according to Carr.
“Our Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit continues to play an integral role in our state’s response to the abuse and exploitation of Georgia’s children,” Carr said in a statement. “Our team works from the ground up to identify potential cases, locate and rescue victims, and prosecute buyers and traffickers.”
According to Carr’s office, the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit has opened 25 cases, made nine arrests, prosecuted 51 defendants and rescued or assisted more than 100 victims this year.
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