The mayor of a small northwest Georgia town who believed he was meeting a minor for sex instead was met by FBI agents and arrested.
Cary Wayne Rhodes, 57, of Taylorsville, was arrested Thursday in Chatsworth by FBI officers and booked into the Murray County Jail, Brian D. Lamkin, special agent in charge, said Friday afternoon. Rhodes was denied bond at an 11 a.m. court appearance, a spokeswoman for the jail said.
Instead of communicating online with a minor child, Rhodes was instead speaking to undercover agents, Special Agent Stephen Emmett told the AJC.
"There was no minor child," Emmett said.
Rhodes faces charges of attempted aggravated child molestation and violation of the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Act, Lamkin said.
Rhodes is a licensed engineer and is self-employed, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office. He is also registered with the state as the secretary and chief financial officer for Taylorsville Baptist Church.
Taylorsville, which straddles Bartow and Polk counties, is about 40 miles northwest of Marietta. About 210 people live in Taylorsville, according to the U.S. Census.
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