Foster Dad in Chattahoochee Hills Arrested for Child Molestation

Fulton County Courthouse

Chattahoochee Hills, Ga. - A local foster dad has been arrested in South Carolina for charges stemming from incidents in Georgia. He is currently waiting to be extradited to Fulton County Jail.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has accused him of sexually abusing four foster children. The four children were between the ages of eight and sixteen years old. The four children were all siblings, and the investigation points to the foster dad abusing all four children while they were in his care.

The man is facing fourteen total charges. They range from child molestation to battery. As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline one of the charges in today's post - enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes in Georgia

Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes in Georgia is outlined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-6-5 as:

A person commits the crime of enticing a child for indecent purposes when he or she solicits, entices, or takes any child under the age of 16 years to a place whatsoever for the purpose of child molestation or indecent acts.

The difference with the Georgia law and the federal law is that asportation is an element in enticing a child for indecent purposes. In other words, there must be some taking or moving the child towards somewhere that an indecent act would occur. The taking could be accomplished by using force, enticement, or persuasion.

Enticing a child is classified as a felony. The penalty will be a prison term between 10 and 30 years. 

However, if the victim is between 14 and 16 years old and the person convicted is 18 years or younger and no more than 4 years older than the victim, that person will be guilty of a misdemeanor.

In addition to a prison sentence, the defendant is required to register as a sex offender under penalty of law.

Practice Note

Even though stories such as these are horrendous, it is important to remember that just because a person has been accused of committing a heinous offense or even a string of heinous offenses does not make them guilty. This is why we have a process in the United States. It may be far from perfect, but the main purpose is to find justice.

This is just another reason why hiring knowledgable and experienced representation is so important. Call our offices now if you or a loved one has been wrongly accused of a crime or arrested in the state of Georgia.