A veteran prosecutor and two seasoned investigators have been named to the new Augusta human trafficking prosecution unit created by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.
Carr’s office announced Monday the three recent hires who will oversee the unit’s regional efforts, starting May 1, to fight human trafficking. Human trafficking is the recruitment, transport or harboring of individuals for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual exploitation and forced labor.
State lawmakers recently approved funding for the three positions in the state budget after Carr earlier this announced the expansion of the unit. The expansion is modeled on the expansion of his gang prosecution unit into the area in 2023.
“We’re strengthening our efforts to combat human trafficking throughout the region, and we won’t rest until every buyer and seller is held accountable. With each new arrest, indictment and conviction, we will continue to send a strong message that Georgia’s children are not for sale,” said Carr, who is running for governor.
Joining the human trafficking team as an assistant attorney general is Megan Adams. Adams has served since 2021 as an assistant district attorney for the Toombs Judicial Circuit, where she prosecuted various felonies for McDuffie and Taliaferro counties and served as lead prosecutor in juvenile court, according to bios provided by the attorney general’s office.
Prior to her time in Toombs, Adams served more than four years as an assistant district attorney for the Augusta Judicial Circuit. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and her J.D. from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.
William Loomer joins the team as a criminal investigator. Loomer most recently served as a lieutenant with the Grovetown Police Department, where he ran two multi-agency operations targeting child predators that resulted in multiple arrests. Prior to that, he was an investigative sergeant with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, where he handled investigations of crimes against children and sexual assaults.
As an investigator with the Augusta DA’s office from 2016-2020, Loomer created and served as director of the Crimes Against the Vulnerable and Elderly or CAVE, task force, which combatted elder abuse. CAVE was comprised of around 25 core officers and 30 organizations and handled more than 350 investigations during its operation.
Loomer previously served as a deputy Richmond County sheriff with the crime suppression unit, led one of the crime suppression squads and was part of the SWAT team. Before moving to the U.S. in 2011, Loomer served as a constable with the Metropolitan Police Service in London. He is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force and Safe Homes of Augusta board and worked with Child Enrichment’s case review team and the Augusta Circuit’s child abuse protocol.
Also joining the team as a criminal investigator is Patrick Brown, a former U.S. Marine who served as an Arabic linguist and counterterrorism team lead. Brown received a commendation medal for the apprehension and destruction of several most-wanted ISIS leaders from 2013-2018, according to his bio.
Joining area law enforcement, Brown worked as a campus police officer for Augusta University then joined the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in 2018. With the sheriff’s office, Brown worked as a narcotics investigator who participated in more than 200 high-risk tactical operations with local, state and federal partners. He worked as a criminal investigator for the Grovetown Police Department from 2022-2023 and was investigator of the year in 2022.
Brown rejoined the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in 2023 and currently serves as a gang investigator. He worked with Carr’s gang prosecution unit on Operation No Loyalty, which recovered more than 15 pounds of fentanyl and secured a 333-count indictment against 30 defendants.
Created in 2019, the human trafficking prosecution unit works with local, state and federal law enforcement to rescue victims and prosecute offenders throughout the state. The unit has secured more than 50 convictions and rescued and assisted over 200 children.
