Cherokee County District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said that Allen Joseph Peacock, 55, of Holly Springs, was sent to jail after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of a Schedule I controlled substance.
The charges come from an investigation that began in 2022 when someone close to Peacock told police they found Snapchat messages in which Peacock talked to someone online about his sexual interest in children.
The police then searched Peacock’s cell phone and found sexually explicit pictures and videos of children who had not been named on it. Peacock had downloaded them from the internet. His home also had illegal drugs in it, which were later recognized as THC.
Rachel Hines, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney of the Special Victims Unit, led the prosecution for the State. She said, “There was no evidence that Mr. Peacock abused children, but it was clear that the defendant has an inappropriate sexual interest in children.”
Because this person had harmful and sexual pictures and movies on his electronics, we were able to bring charges against him before he could act out his deviant fantasies any further.
Judge Tony Baker of the Superior Court gave Peacock a 20-year sentence during the plea hearing. The first five years would be spent in jail, and the rest would be spent on probation with special rules for sex offenders.
These conditions include not having any contact with anyone younger than 18 and being registered as a sex offender when he gets out of jail.
The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, Holly Springs Police, and the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad all looked into the case. Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hines of the Special Victims Unit, Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, led the prosecution.