Former Cobb deputy sentenced to 6 years for distributing child porn

Dec. 2—An ex-Cobb County sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to almost six years in federal prison after he pled guilty in August to distributing child pornography, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Peter Bilardello, 52, of Marietta, was a Cobb sheriff's deputy for about 17 years when he was arrested on suspicion of distributing child pornography in August 2021, U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan's office said.

After entering a guilty plea, Bilardello was convicted of one count of distributing child pornography on Aug. 29 of this year. This week, he was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison, followed by ten years of supervised release, announced Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

According to prosecutors, Bilardello worked in the sex offender unit of the sheriff's office, where his job included maintaining, updating and verifying Cobb's sex offender registry. During his assignment to the unit, Bilardello distributed images of young children engaged in sexually explicit activity.

The Cobb County Police Department obtained a warrant for Bilardello's arrest after a 2019 tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, prosecutors said. The center informed police that social media company MeWe had provided it with information about a user in Marietta who was distributing child pornography.

Police executed a search warrant for Bilardello's home and phone, prosecutors said, during which investigators confirmed he was the MeWe user. Investigators found more than 300 images and videos of child pornography on Bilardello's phone and "multiple chats online about his pedophilic desire for young children."

The case against Bilardello was investigated by the FBI and Cobb Police.

"The public places a great amount of trust in law enforcement officers," said Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer. "When a law enforcement officer breaks that trust, it reflects on all officers across this profession. I stand with the honorable women and men of the Cobb County Police Department, with Sheriff Owens and those who serve under his command, and with the remainder of law enforcement professionals across this nation who find acts such as these by law enforcement officers abhorrent."

Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens echoed VanHoozer's statement.

"Bilardello's actions erode the trust the public places in law enforcement officers," Owens said. " I commend the Cobb County Police Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their swift action in investigating these heinous crimes and stopping the spread of child pornography. Justice was served, and this sentence makes clear that no one is above the law, especially those sworn to protect and serve the public."

Bilardello was taken into federal custody immediately following sentencing and must register as a sex offender.