COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A former Cobb County deputy with the agency's sex offender unit has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing child pornography.
Peter Bilardello was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison, and 10 years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to his charge. He was convicted of one count of distributing child pornography on Aug. 29, following his guilty plea, prosecutors said.
Cobb County Police began investigating Bilardello last August after getting a report from the National Center for Mission and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The organization said a social media company MeWe, said a user in Marietta had uploaded and shared around 12 images depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to U.S. Attorney Buchanan.
Police used a search warrant on the social media account and traced it to Bilardello. The former law enforcement officer had been employed by the sheriff's office for around 17 years and, according to prosecutors, he was distributing child pornography online.
Officers continued investigating the 52-year-old and executed search warrants for his home and cell phone. Investigators were able to confirm that Bilardello, a deputy at the time, had uploaded and shared explicit content on MeWe. Authorities recovered more than 300 images and videos of young children engaging in sexually explicit conduct and chats expressing his pedophilic desires, they said.
Besides the federal accusations, Cobb County authorities filed five charges in a state indictment for sexual exploitation of children. This was while Bilardello was already in custody.
Bilardello is now a registered sex offender.
