Overview
- The probe began after the Ware County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joel Christopher Heath in early June and expanded this week when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation joined multi‑county inquiries.
- Authorities have arrested and charged several adults named by investigators, including Joel Christopher Heath, Theresa Bryant, Betty Sue Corbitt, Elizabeth Delk and Amber Lynn Hult, on counts such as aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, child exploitation and sex trafficking.
- Investigators have identified eight victims between about 3 and 13 years old and say the investigation is active with the possibility of additional victims or suspects being found.
- One charged suspect, Theresa Bryant, is reported to have been a longtime Bacon County school bus driver, a fact that has raised local concern and prompted scrutiny of school‑district records.
- The inquiry has involved multiple county sheriff’s offices across Georgia and a Lexington County (S.C.) detention booking, with one suspect held in South Carolina pending extradition and officials asking the public to provide tips to the GBI.