Carr: One Indicted in DeKalb County, Charged with Trafficking and Exploitation of a Child

Underage victim recovered by the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit in March 2023

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Virginia Anne Bates, 37, of Forest Park, has been indicted in DeKalb County on charges of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude, Sexual Exploitation of Children, and Pimping. Bates is alleged to have knowingly harbored and provided a 16-year-old female and an adult female to sex buyers in DeKalb County. The defendant is further alleged to have collected a portion of the financial proceeds from the commercial sex acts of both victims.

This indictment follows an investigation conducted by the office’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, which recovered the 16-year-old female in March 2023.

“As we have said since the beginning – those involved in the sex trafficking of a child will be held accountable,” said Carr. “Our investigators and analysts work each day to identify and locate victims and offenders throughout our state, and this is another example of the results we’re able to achieve thanks to their efforts. We will never stop fighting to protect our most vulnerable Georgians.”

The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit presented evidence to a DeKalb County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment* on May 29, 2024, charging Virginia Bates with the following:

• 4 counts of Trafficking of Persons for Sexual Servitude
• 1 count of Sexual Exploitation of Children
• 3 counts of Pimping

The defendant was taken into custody on March 25, 2024, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, the Forest Park Police Department, and the Clayton County Police Department.

About the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking and Gang Prosecution Units

In 2019, with the support of Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp and leaders in the Georgia General Assembly, Attorney General Chris Carr created the first-of-its-kind statewide Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Last year, the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit rescued and assisted 129 victims. The Unit has obtained 35 new convictions since January 2023.

The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit has 35 defendants who are currently under indictment for sex or labor trafficking, with some facing charges in multiple jurisdictions around the state.

The Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit is housed in the Prosecution Division, which also includes Carr’s Gang Prosecution Unit and his Public Integrity and White Collar Crime Unit.

*Members of the public should keep in mind that indictments contain only allegations against the individual against whom the indictment is sought. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and it will be the government’s burden at trial to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the allegations contained in the indictment.