A Columbia County man has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after investigators found more than 2,000 images of child pornography on his computer, Acting District Attorney Natalie Paine announced.
Harold Middleton Sinclair, 74, of Miles Road in Harlem, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 20 counts of sexual exploitation of children. Judge Grady Blanchard sentenced Sinclair to 100 years in prison followed by five years on probation.
The case began on April 18, 2024, when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Sinclair’s home. Agents discovered thousands of images of child sexual abuse during a forensic review of his electronic devices. The GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit opened the investigation after receiving reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Sinclair was arrested the same day and booked into the Columbia County Jail on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of children. Those charges later led to his guilty plea in Columbia County Superior Court.
“Child predators are not welcome in Columbia County,” Paine said in a statement.
