Posted 2:32 am Friday, December 12, 2008
Shady Grove Man Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
A Cherokee County jury found a Shady Grove man guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse Wednesday in the Second Judicial Court District.
Staff Writer
A Cherokee County jury found a Shady Grove man guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse Wednesday in the Second Judicial Court District.
Cherokee County Assistant District Attorney Rachel Patton, who prosecuted the case, said the incidents of abuse involving 49-year-old George Henry Williams Jr. and a now 7-year-old child occurred within the past year and a half.
Williams' prison sentence could be from 25 years to 99 years or life.
"(The goal is) to get the least amount he can," defense attorney Allen Ross said. "Even if the judge gives him 25 years, that's essentially a life sentence for him."
A sentencing hearing date had not been set for Williams as of Thursday.
"I would credit the verdict on the testimony of the child," Patton said. "She came in and told the jury what had happened to her."
Ross said his defense argument was that the child was not being truthful about what happened based on other evidence in the case.
Patton would not say exactly how the girl and Williams know each other, but she did say "they saw each other enough for it to be an ongoing thing."
This was the first Continuous Sexual Abuse of a young child case to go to a jury in Cherokee County and was prosecuted under what has been referred to as "Jessica's Law," which took effect Sept. 1, 2007, she said.
"Children have a hard time remembering exact dates," Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth. "This (law) allows the child to tell what happened...(with) no legal restrictions."
He said the offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a young child did not exist before the law took effect, and offenses before that were Aggravated Sexual Assault and Indecency With a Child.
"The little girl in this case is a very sweet and loving child," Patton said. "And I'm very proud of how brave she was."
