Federal grand jury indicts former Cobb County Deputy on child porn charges

A federal grand jury has indicted Peter Bilardello, a former Cobb County sheriff’s deputy, accused of distributing child pornography while working in the sex offender unit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. 

In August, Cobb police arrested Bilardello, 51, and charged him with two felonies: sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child porn. On his arrest warrant, Bilardello is accused of chatting about performing sexual acts with children on a social media website. Investigators said, “Bilardello allegedly shared child pornography through social media while he was employed as a law enforcement officer.” 

A press release from U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine Wednesday provided more details on the charges against the former deputy. According to prosecutors, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report in November 2019 that a MeWe social media user had allegedly uploaded and shared about 12 images depicting children under 12 involved in sexually explicit conduct. The NCMEC gave that information to the GBI. They determined the pictures had been uploaded by someone living in Marietta. The GBI passed the information along to the Cobb County Police Department. The U.S. The Attorney’s Office said the GBI then contacted the Cobb County Police Department. 

On Aug. 10, Cobb police identified the account user as Bilardello. The phone number associated with the social media account was linked to Bilardello, who had been employed by Cobb County for more than 15 years, at one point within the sex offender unit at the sheriff’s office. 

Cobb police obtained search warrants for the MeWe account in question, as well as Bilardello’s home and cellphone. They “confirmed that Bilardello had uploaded and shared child pornography while chatting with other users,” according to the news release.” Investigators also recovered more than 100 images and videos depicting young children in sexually explicit conduct.”

In prepared statements, officials said Bilardello’s alleged violation of public trust made the charges all the more disturbing. “The victimization of children is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable and distributing images of child sexual abuse compounds the harm. It is especially troubling that these crimes were allegedly committed by someone in a position of public trust,” said Erskine. 

Philip Wislar, acting special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta said, “Every time pornographic images are distributed online, that child is continuously re-victimized. The FBI will not tolerate predators who prey on our children, especially ones like Bilardello, who are sworn law enforcement officers that took an oath to protect the citizens of our community.”

The FBI is assisting the Cobb County Police Department is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Annalise K. Peters is prosecuting, a press release states. 

After his arrest in August 2021, Bilardello was released from the Cobb jail on a $100,000 bond and placed on immediate unpaid administrative leave.