Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Man arrested for online exploitation of child makes bond By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com A Newnan man accused of setting up an illicit rendezvous with a girl he thought was 15 years old is free on a $100,000 bond. Barrett D. Peavy, 35, learned Thursday that the girl he asked to meet him in Peachtree City via the Internet was actually undercover Corporal Heather Lackey of the Peachtree City Police Department. Police said Peavy originally approached Cpl. Lackey in an Internet chat room and they had communicated for about a month, with the discussions becoming more graphic. It culminated last week, police say, when Peavy, a webmaster for the Coweta County School System, asked Cpl. Lackey to meet him in Peachtree City to have sex. Peavy is charged with violation of the computer pornography and child exploitation act on 1999 and enticing a child for indecent purposes. Both charges are felonies. Seven computers have been confiscated from Peavy’s home and one from his workplace, where he served as the webmaster for the Coweta County School System. District Attorney Bill McBroom said it would likely take the Georgia Bureau of Investigation a while to review the computers for possible evidence, so he suggested setting a high bond on Peavy instead of asking for him to be held without bond. The latter option would force McBroom to indict Peavy within 90 days of his arrest, McBroom said, indicating the GBI’s investigation may not be complete by that time. Friday afternoon, Fayette Magistrate James A. White set the $100,000 bond on Peavy along with a condition that he have no access to computers except for his job. White also set conditions that Peavy have no contact with children other than his daughter and he must abide by a nightly 8 p.m. curfew. Peavy’s attorney, Scott Cummins, said his client would not be a flight risk, and he noted that Peavy’s wife and parents were in the courtroom supporting him. Cummins said Peavy was likely to lose his position with the Coweta County Board of Education.