11 missing Georgia children found, Decatur man indicted as part of international trafficking sting

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Authorities found 11 missing children in Georgia during an international crackdown on human trafficking, including a teen girl whose rescue led to an indictment in metro Atlanta, according to state Attorney General Chris Carr’s office.

Eric Gordon, 36, of Decatur, was taken into custody on Aug. 4 for allegedly trafficking a 16-year-old girl in Fulton County. He was indicted Monday on one count of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, Carr’s office said in a press release Tuesday.

The victim was rescued during Operation Global Chain, an international law enforcement effort to combat human trafficking. The operation took place June 8-12, in partnership between the Georgia AG’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, the FBI, Interpol, Europol and Ameripol.

Carr’s office said Global Chain resulted in the recovery of 11 missing children in Georgia alone, including the 16-year-old victim.

“This is exactly why we can never stop fighting to recover a missing child, and we’re using all available resources to bring them home,” Carr said in a statement. “By partnering with law enforcement both in Georgia and around the globe, we’re able to locate even more victims and ultimately save even more lives, but our work doesn’t stop here. We’re going after everyone involved in the trafficking of a child, and we won’t rest until they’re off our streets and behind bars.”

The press release said no further information about the investigation or indictment may be released at this time by the attorney general’s office.