The science and math dean for a south Georgia university was among 14 people arrested in a sting operation that targeted adults seeking children for sex, authorities said Monday.
Valdosta State University said it had placed Keith Andrew Walters on administrative leave following his arrest. Walters serves as dean of the university’s College of Science and Mathematics.
Walters, 44, and others were arrested during a four-day, multi-agency sting operation that ended Sunday in which adults seeking sex with children were lured into meetings by undercover agents who had posed as children online, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release.
Walters was charged with three counts of obscene internet contact with a child and one count of sexual exploitation of children using a computer device, authorities said.
It was not immediately known if Walters had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
Walters was hired by Valdosta State last summer. The Valdosta Daily Times reported the university issued a statement saying Walters was placed “on immediate administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and law enforcement investigations into these very disturbing allegations.”
