Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Man nabbed in sex sting posts $35K bond

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

A North Georgia man who police say enticed a “child” he met on the Internet to have sex with her dog was released from the Fayette County Jail Wednesday after posting a $35,000 bond.

Robert Michael Tidwell, 51, of Briar Ridge Way, Cumming, appeared before Fayette County Magistrate Judge Joe Tinsley during a bond hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday to answer charges levied by the Peachtree City Police Department. Tidwell faces one count of violation of the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Act of 1999.

Tinsley agreed Tidwell could be released after he posted bond, and stipulated that Tidwell could not have contact with any children under the age of 16 and he could not use any electronic device capable of connecting to the Internet, officials said.

The Tidwell investigation began Feb. 18 when he allegedly sent an MSN Hotmail instant message over the Internet to an undercover police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.

During their chats, which continued through March 24, Tidwell told the officer that he wanted to have sex with her and even instructed her to have sex with her dog, authorities said.

Tidwell also allegedly exposed his genitals to the undercover officer using a webcam for the purpose of sexual gratification, police said.

Peachtree City police arrested Tidwell Monday in Cumming, with the help of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department.

While in custody, officials allegedly retrieved from Tidwell’s home graphic images depicting people having sexual relations with animals.

“A cursory search of his computers was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations,” Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray said in a prepared statement. “During this search, adolescent and child pornography was found, as well as images of bestiality.”

Tidwell could face up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine upon conviction. But his legal woes might be far from over, officials say.

“Because the computers were seized from Tidwell’s home in Forsyth County, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department is taking additional warrants for having images of child pornography,” Murray said. “Additional charges from the Peachtree City Police Department may also be forthcoming.”

Tidwell is the sixth person nabbed as part of the department’s Online Protection of Children program.

On March 10, police arrested former Pike County Superintendent Darryl Dean for trying to solicit sex from a police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.

The sting also has nabbed Barrett Peavy, a former webmaster for the Coweta County School System. Last month, Peavy pleaded guilty to obscene contact with a child. He received 10 years probation and a $2,000 fine and was sentenced under the First Offender’s Act.