Friday, May 21, 2004

Newnan man arrested after child porn found on school computer By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com A former Coweta County schools employee arrested two weeks ago for arranging a illicit rendezvous with an undercover police officer whom he thought was 15 has been arrested a second time, police said. Barrett D. Peavy, 36, of 48 Briar Grove, Newnan, was arrested at his home Thursday afternoon and charged with computer possession of child pornography, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. Peavy was the school system’s webmaster prior to his arrest two weeks ago on other charges. The latest evidence was found in a review of multiple computers that were seized from Peavy’s office and home, Murray said. One of the computers taken from his house actually belongs to the school system and contained photos depicting “extremely young children” engaged in sexual activities, Murray said. The newest charge carries a range between 5 and 20 years in prison if Peavy is found guilty, Murray noted. Newnan police assisted Peachtree City detectives in serving the arrest warrant at Peavy’s home, Murray said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation hasn’t completed its review of the computers that were seized from Peavy’s residence and workplace, Murray noted. Peavy has been out on a $100,000 bond on the previous charges of enticing a child for indecent purposes and violating the computer pornography and child exploitation act of 1999. Both charges are felonies which carry up to 30 years in prison if Peavy is convicted. Police said Peavy thought the undercover officer he was conversing with online was actually 15 years old. Peavy was targeted by the investigation when he struck up an online conversation with Cpl. Heather Lackey in a chat room, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. Peavy even asked Lackey to send in a photo of herself, and she did, Murray added. As the conversations continued between Peavy and Lackey, Peavy’s language got more sexually explicit, Murray said. The investigation lasted over a month and involved numerous online conversations with Peavy, Murray said. Although Peavy set up a date, time and place to meet with Lackey, he never showed up, officials said.

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