Update: Taylorsville Mayor out on Bond
Cary Wayne Rhodes faces child-sex charges related to an online investigation.
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Updated 1 p.m. Thursday
According to The Daily Citizen in Dalton, Rhodes posted a $50,000 bond and was released from the Murray County Jail on Wednesday. It is not known when Rhodes' next court date will be.
Original Story
Taylorsville Mayor Cary Wayne Rhodes, 57, was arrested Thursday in an online sting operation involving the FBI and the Northwest Georgia Safe Child Task Force.
Rhodes attempted to meet with a child he met online to have sex, said Brian Lamkin, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta field office.
But there was no child. Instead, FBI agents and other task force members met Rhodes in Chatsworth and arrested the self-employed engineer.
Undercover agents had tracked Rhodes' actions online and set up the meeting that resulted in his arrest, Lamkin said.
Rhodes is facing state charges of attempted aggravated child molestation and violation of the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Act.
He was booked into the Murray County Jail.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Rhodes is registered with the state as the secretary and chief financial officer of Taylorsville Baptist Church.
Angela
9:49 pm on Friday, October 28, 2011
I have seen this on Dateline, but never would I have thought it could be this close to home! This is sick and scary. I hope he gets the maximum punishment!
Sharon McCary
12:45 am on Sunday, October 30, 2011
It is amazing, he comes from a good family. Active in the church. I am glad his parents are no longer alive to have to face this embrassment. There is no a punishment that would be enough for a man who preys on children.
John
9:01 am on Monday, October 31, 2011
I wonder if the undercover agent was posing as a teenage girl or as a teenage boy?The reports so far have not specified.
Mike
10:58 am on Monday, October 31, 2011
The guy has not been convicted yet! Also Entrapment comes to mind. Do you really trust the Feds?
Bill Thrasher
12:10 pm on Monday, October 31, 2011
you are exactly right Mike. He has not been convicted yet and entrapment has yet to be alleged or proved. Let's presume for a moment that entrapment is in play. Other than conviction and a prison sentence, how does that change the big picture to you?