Long Island man arrested in Georgia for soliciting teens for illicit images, videos
Michael Merle (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - A 36-year-old Long Island man has been arrested in Georgia for soliciting illicit images from young teenagers in Cherokee County.
Michael Merle, of Miller Place, New York, was charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children after a 14-month investigation.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and Homeland Security Investigations discovered Merle had been using social media to gather videos and images of a sexual nature from girls as young as 13 years old, according to investigators.
He was booked into the Cherokee Adult Detention Center without bond.
More charges are pending as the case remains under investigation.