Georgia State Patrol Officer Charged with Child Molestation

As reported on many Atlanta news outlets, a GSP Trooper has been charged with several Georgia Sex Offenses, including child molestation, aggravated child molestation, and sexual battery. 

 Other news outlets have reported his name; however, in an abundance of caution we are choosing to not reveal that detail.

 The purpose of this article is not to comment on the guilt or innocence of this accused person.  Our purpose is to once again point out that everyone deserves the presumption of innocence and the right to have a jury of their peers hear their case.

Too often we look at a person accused of a heinous offense and assume that they would not be charged unless they were actually guilty.  In my experience, especially in Sex Offense Crimes in Georgia, many people are falsely accused. 

Our office has represented people who have been accused by jilted lovers, enraged spouses, and other bad actors who abuse the criminal justice system to advance some other goal such as revenge or an attempt to obtain child custody.  Children are often manipulated by counselors and parents, and the result is people are falsely charged. 

People are often guilty of what they are accused of doing.  However, this is why we have jury trials in Georgia.  Too often, the general public assumes a person's guilty before a single witness has been called or before an alleged victim's testimony is heard in court.

I do not know this State Trooper.  Our paths have not crossed.  However, I have met dozens of his fellow officers who had routinely presumed my client's guilt before they have gone to court.

We all need to step back and examine the facts of this case.  We need to examine if the accusers have an inappropriate motivation to make the accusation.   We need to let the judicial system weight the evidence before assuming the guilt of the accused.

Remember, it takes a very low standard of evidence, mere probable cause, to make an arrest.  Yet, before a person can be convicted of a crime, a jury must find that the evidence is sufficient beyond all reasonable doubt.  There is a big difference between sufficient evidence to make and arrest and evidence required to find someone guilty.  Let's slow down people!