On Monday, November 15, 2021, the GBI arrested Steve Macallin Thomas, 22, of Garfield, GA. Thomas is charged with two counts of Sexual Exploitation and two counts of Sexual Battery. These charges stem from a GBI investigation at the request of the Candler County Sheriff’s Office. The victims that have been identified so far were children under the age of 15 at the time of the incidents.
Thomas is a former Youth Pastor at the Restoration Worship Center in Metter, GA. He turned himself in to the Candler County Jail on Monday evening.