GBI Arrests Mitchell County Teacher in Sexual Exploitation of Children Investigation

The GBI has arrested and charged Willie James Silas, age 34, of Baconton, Mitchell County, Georgia, with one count of Sexual Exploitation of Children, one count of Grooming of a Minor for Sexual Offense, and one count of Child Molestation. Silas is a teacher at Mitchell County Middle School.

In April of 2026, the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes (CEACC) Unit received a request from the New Castle County Police Department in Delaware in reference to an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation. The initial investigation began when the NCCPD received information about a child victim in Delaware. This investigation led to Georgia and resulted in Silas’ arrest in St. Augustine, FL.

Silas was arrested on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, and booked into the St. Johns County Jail. He was later extradited to Georgia and booked into the Mitchell County Jail.

The New Castle County Police Department (Delaware), the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (Florida), the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Camilla Police Department assisted with the investigation.

This investigation is part of the ongoing effort by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, housed within the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, to identify those involved in the trade of child sexual abuse material. The ICAC Program, created by the U.S. Department of Justice, was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.

Anyone with information about other cases of child exploitation is asked to contact the GBI CEACC Unit at 404-270-8870 or submit a tip via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at Cybertipline.org. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.