Crime & Safety

Man Sentenced in Online Sexual Exploitation Case

Anthony Francis Paleveda was sentenced to 15 years over a 2009 incident with a then-12-year-old girl.

Anthony Francis Paleveda, 21, of Dallas was convicted Monday in a Paulding County courtroom for enticing a child for indecent purposes and two counts of child molestation against a then-12-year-old girl. Paleveda was 19 at the time of the incident. Paleveda was sentenced today to 15 years for each count, with 10 years in confinement and the remaining on probation.

Detective Lenny Carr with the was notified of the sexual assault involving this girl on April 23, 2009. The investigation revealed that the victim met Paleveda in an online social network site called Vampirefreaks.com a few weeks earlier. Paleveda continued to communicate with the victim by email and instant messaging. Paleveda picked the victim up from her middle school on April 23, 2009, and drove her back to his residence where a sex act occurred, according to detectives. Paleveda then drove the victim back to an area near her residence and dropped her off.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office focuses on educating the community at large about the potential dangers that children and adults may encounter on the Internet and through the use of cell phones and other devices used for communication and Internet access.  The third-annual Family Summit will be offered at 7 p.m. on April 26 in the auditorium of . This year’s goal is to educate parents and children together about the potential dangers of electronic exploitation, texting while driving, “sexting,” cyberbullying and more. 

Find out what's happening in Dallas-Hiramwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are committed to protecting the citizens of this county both young and old,” Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge said in Tuesday’s news release. “We encourage citizens to come out and get involved in this endeavor to help improve the safety of Paulding County both online and offline.”

“The Paulding County District Attorney’s office takes very seriously all crimes against children, especially those involving the use of the Internet or other online communications to target our most precious asset,” said Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan in the release. “Children usually do not realize that they are being victimized online until it is too late. The Family Summit presented by the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office is a great resource to help parents and children understand the technology being used and the potential danger if it is used irresponsibly.” 

Find out what's happening in Dallas-Hiramwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

CAC was created in 2006 to focus on cases that involve victims under the age of 18 and to monitor sex offenders that are registered in Paulding County. CAC works closely with outside agencies as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT). MDT is made up of law enforcement, the district attorney’s office, Department of Family and Children’s Services, Harbor House and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. MDT meets weekly to discuss open cases that are under investigation. 

“The types of cases investigated by this unit can become emotionally draining on the detectives,” said CAC Lieutenant Starry Kilgore. “We have made a commitment within ourselves to strive for the safety of our children that are not able to protect themselves. I am proud of the men and women that have dedicated themselves to the children of Paulding County and for their tremendous work ethic in pursuing child abuse cases.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Dallas-Hiram