A 45-year-old Newton County Man was arrested on Friday in Stone Mountain as part of a state and local investigation into online exploitation and child molestation.
Derrick Crooms was arrested by federal marshals acting on a tip. He was charged with two counts of incest, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, two counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of child molestation and one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes. He was transported from Stone Mountain to the Newton County Jail.
The GBI has been working on an investigation with the sheriff's offices in Newton and Oconee counties for almost a year, following a request from the Oconee County Sheriff's Office. Their probe alleges the crimes occurred in Newton County as well as at other locations around the country.
The GBI says the arrest is part of an ongoing effort by its Internet Crime Against Children Task Force, a program created by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Crooms' wife, Rachel Overton, a traveling nurse, was arrested in February in Wisconsin. Authorities said she was aware of but failed to report Croom's criminal acts to law enforcement. After she was returned to Georgia, she was charged with third-degree cruelty to children and failure to report as mandated. She has been released on bail.
Tips about similar crimes can be provided to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit at 404-270-8870 or submitted anonymously by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
