A man wanted by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office for furnishing pornographic material to a minor has turned himself in.

Mark Butler, 28, of Vidalia, turned himself into the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office shortly before noon Thursday. The ECSO received information Butler was residing in Jefferson County, Ala., near Birmingham until Wednesday.

“Over the past couple of weeks, he was talking to who he thought was a 13-year-old girl on the Internet,” said ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor. “It was actually an undercover detective. He had a Web cam and showed inappropriate material.”

 Butler will be held until a bond hearing before a judge. Additional charges may be forthcoming as this is an ongoing investigation.

The Effingham County Sheriff›s Office is a member of the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). This task force is made up of numerous agencies throughout the state with the goal of catching individuals who use the Internet or other wireless devices to prey upon children in an attempt to exploit them for various means.

The ICAC Task Force investigator takes great strides in educating the community in the dangers of not only Internet predators but also the importance of preserving personal information and knowing boundaries of social networking sites.

The ICAC Task Force investigator works closely with state and federal agencies to ensure that child predators receive maximum sentences and are held accountable for their actions against the children in our communities.

Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie is very proud of the training and safety information provided to the community through this program.

The primary responsibilities of the Effingham County ICAC Task Force include:
• Conducting investigations and prosecuting offenders.
• Providing investigative and prosecutorial assistance to police agencies and prosecutors (e.g., forensic analysis of computers seized as evidence).
• Providing training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors.
• Providing training for parents, teachers and other community members and distributing informational materials to ensure that children, parents, and other individuals and organizations are well-acquainted with the issues in this area, including potential problems and the availability of assistance.
• Fostering continual countywide and regional coordination, collaboration, information sharing, networking and service integration.