x
Breaking News
More () »

Officials: 60-year-old 'traveler' used app to lure child for indecent purposes

Thomas Arthur Ward, 60, is in custody at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center with no bond.

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Officials say they arrested a 60-year-old who thought he was using an app to arrange a rendezvous with a child.

On March 28, the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office's Internet Crimes Against Children unit caught the “traveler,” 60-year-old Thomas Arthur Ward in Woodstock. A traveler, officials say, is a person who travels to a different city or state to meet a child for sex or other indecent acts.

Ward's arrest comes after the ICAC unit's investigation on the Whisper App, which allows for anonymous conversation between users. Investigators said there had been previous reports of Cherokee County children being victimized on this same app.

Investigators arrested Ward at an outside pavilion near a roller hockey rink on Highway 5.

The Kennesaw man now faces six counts of Obscene Contact with a Child and one count of Distribution of Obscene Materials to a Minor.

Ward remains in the custody of the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center with no bond.

MORE CRIME NEWS | Mugshot Gallery

Before You Leave, Check This Out