Attorney General Chris Carr 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:
- 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.
In 2019, with support from Governor Brian Kemp, First Lady Marty Kemp and leaders in the Georgia General Assembly, Attorney General Chris Carr created a statewide Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. Last year alone, this unit rescued and assisted 129 victims and obtained 35 new convictions since January 2023.
Currently, there are 35 defendants under indictment for sex or labor trafficking within this unit's jurisdiction across multiple locations in Georgia. The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit operates within Carr’s Prosecution Division alongside his Gang Prosecution Unit and Public Integrity and White Collar Crime Unit.
Members of the public should keep in mind that indictments contain only allegations against individuals against whom they are sought. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.