CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office announced a 55-year-old man has been given a 20-year sentence for sexually exploiting children.

The DA’s office said Allen Joseph Peacock was charged in relation to a 2022 investigation after “an individual close to him” told members of law enforcement that they’d found a message on Snapchat referring to Peacock’s sexual interests related to minors.

Members of law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Peacock’s cell phone and “found sexually explicit pictures and videos of unidentified children,” which the DA’s office said Peacock found online.

Drugs that contained tetrahydrocannabinol were also found in Peacock’s home.

“While there was no evidence of Mr. Peacock committing acts of abuse against children, the evidence was clear that the defendant has a deviant sexual interest in children,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hines, of the Special Victims Unit said in a statement. “The harmful and perverse images and videos on his electronics allowed us to prosecute this individual before he could act out his deviant fantasies further.”

The DA’s office said during Peacock’s plea hearing, his sentence was negotiated to 20 years with the first five in prison, with the “balance to serve on probation under sex offender special conditions.”

As a result, Peacock will not be allowed to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 and will have to register as a sex offender upon leaving prison. He was sentenced on April 18, the DA’s office said.

“In Georgia, it is a felony to possess or control sexually explicit material depicting minors,” District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said in a statement. “By prosecuting and closely monitoring individuals who possess sexually explicit imagery of children, we can be proactive in preventing these offenders from victimizing children in our community.”

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