86-year-old Coweta County man arrested for online child pornography

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - An 86-year-old Coweta County man was arrested last Friday for online child pornography.

Deputies took Jerome Wellington Kline into custody from his house.

"Any crime where there's a child victim, this agency takes very seriously. It doesn't matter the age of the offender," Sgt. Toby Nix said. "Investigators were able to confirm that the material was on the computer and an arrest warrant was taken out."

Jerome Wellington Kline (Credit: Coweta County Sheriffs Office)

Deputies at the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office say they got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone in their jurisdiction was sending and receiving child pornography by email. An investigator says the IP address came back to Kline.

While an 86-year-old may not fit the typical profile of an online predator, they say this case is an exception.

Deputies seized his home computer and other electronic devices.

Jerome Wellington Kline (Credit: Coweta County Sheriff's Office)

The investigation so far revealed that Kline sent multiple images of children over the internet to others and had received images as well.

Kline was only charged with one count of child sexual exploitation. While investigators say they could have filed multiple charges, they decided based on Kline’s age, they would only file the one felony charge that they say carries a penalty of 10 to 20 years.