4 sentenced in Jones County child exploitation, family violence cases

JONES COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Four people were sentenced in Jones County in cases involving crimes against children and family violence, according to the Ocmulgee District Attorney's Office.

Jonathan Wright pleaded guilty to 20 counts of sexual exploitation of children and was sentenced to 50 years, with 18 years to serve in prison.

According to the District Attorney's Office, the investigation began after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received a cyber tip from Kik Messaging Service concerning child sexual abuse material Wright had shared with another account on Kik.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated the tip and executed a search warrant at Wright's residence, where investigators recovered devices containing child sexual abuse material.

Levi Marsh pleaded guilty to statutory rape and child molestation and was sentenced to 40 years, with 20 years to serve in prison.

The District Attorney's Office said the resolution meant the two victims would not have to go through a trial.

Roger Evans pleaded guilty to aggravated assault-family violence and aggravated battery-family violence and was sentenced to 40 years, with 30 years to serve in prison.

According to the District Attorney's Office, Evans intentionally set his girlfriend on fire. The District Attorney's Office said she was hospitalized for several months, has undergone more than 20 surgeries and continues to recover.

Matthew Mixter was found guilty following a bench trial of 20 counts of sexual exploitation of children and was sentenced to 60 years, with 30 years to serve in prison.

According to the District Attorney's Office, the investigation began after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received multiple cyber tips from Synchronoss Technologies concerning child sexual abuse material uploaded to Mixter's Verizon cloud account.

The GBI investigated the tips and executed a search warrant at Mixter's residence. The District Attorney's Office said investigators recovered Mixter's cellphone, which contained more than 2,000 images of child sexual abuse material, including images depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

All four cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore, according to the Ocmulgee District Attorney's Office.

Source: https://www.41nbc.com/4-sentenced-in-jones-county-child-exploitation-family-violence-cases/

Top left: Jonathan Wright; top right: Levi Marsh; bottom left: Roger Evans; bottom right: Matthew Mixter.