CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A former Cherokee County deputy has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his part of a federal investigation into child exploitation.
Stephen Bunte, 42, was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child sexual abuse material last year. He’ll also have to register as a sex offender.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to federal prosecutors, investigators began looking into an international child sex trafficking network in the Philippines who offered sexually explicit webcam livestreams involving children under 12, including his own.
While investigating him, they found that Bunte had exchanged 14,000 messages and 15 phone calls with the suspected trafficker between May 2023 and March 2024.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Ex-husband of ‘Steve Harvey Morning Show’ co-host indicted under RICO Act faces additional charges
- Church’s Chicken in Georgia that refused to serve veteran with service dog agrees to pay fine
- 4 Georgia State Patrol troopers fired for trying to get money from chases
They also found that Bunte received at least 35 images of child sexual abuse material.
“Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect the most vulnerable among us, and the public trusts them to uphold that responsibility,” said Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama. “Stephen Bunte failed to honor his oath and betrayed that trust by exploiting children instead of protecting them.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
