Cobb doctor charged with distributing child porn
A Cobb County ear, nose and throat doctor was ordered detained Wednesday on charges he possessed and distributed child pornography.
Andrew Sutton, 48, of Kennesaw, had been arrested March 21 on federal charges in a case investigated by Cobb police and the U.S. Secret Service. During an initial court appearance on April 1, Sutton entered a not guilty plea. U.S. Magistrate Alan Baverman ordered Sutton detained without bond during a hearing Wednesday.
In March 2010, Sutton engaged in online chats with an undercover law enforcement agent posing as a mother with two children, federal prosecutors said. During that chat, Sutton asked for nude photos of the children and transmitted images of child porn to the undercover agent, prosecutors said.
After executing a search warrant of Sutton's home, police seized computers and external hard drives and found additional images of child pornography, authorities said.
"Despite the ongoing publicity relating to undercover operations designed to catch people who are shopping for or trading sexually explicit images of children online, these investigations continue to succeed," U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said in a statement. "Those caught are not limited to any socioeconomic status."
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
