MARIETTA, Ga. -- "I am stronger than you."
Those are the words spoken in court by a victim of a former Cobb County GOP leader found guilty of child sex abuse. On Friday, Joseph Russell Dendy, admitted to committing repeated sexual offenses against two boys between 2004 and 2011.
The 72-year-old former chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party pleaded guilty to 13 counts of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated child molestation, child molestation, enticing a child and cruelty to children. Prosecutors said the abuse happened at Dendy's home, church and in a store dressing room.
After the plea, one of Dendy's victims told the courtroom that he still has nightmares about the abuse and decided to become a military police officer to help others who have been abused.
A Cobb County judge sentenced Dendy to life in prison with 30 to serve for the abuse of the two victims, however he also has charges against him South Carolina. If the 72-year-old is ever released from prison, he will have to register as a sex offender.
