COCHRAN, Ga. — Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody has issued his first public statement after being charged, arrested and released on a charge of misdemeanor sexual battery.
In it, he says that he takes the charges against him seriously and that he’s retained a lawyer to help him through the legal process.
He says he understands the efforts taken to protect the victim in this case and that while it would be inappropriate for him to contact her, he “looks forward to personally expressing his regrets for any offense at the appropriate opportunity.”
Coody says the charges against him don’t reflect the work of sheriff’s office employees – they are charges against him, personally, and no one else.
The charge is the result of an incident that allegedly happened Jan. 18 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly located at 2450 Galleria Parkway where the Georgia Sheriff’s Association was holding its winter meeting.
The warrant says Coody was at the bar after hours when he touched the breast of a woman there without her consent. It names the woman, who is a prominent Atlanta-area judge.
Cobb Police investigated her complaint and a magistrate judge issued a warrant for misdemeanor sexual battery for Coody 10 days later.
Coody was out of the state on a mission trip at the time, but he turned himself in on Friday, Feb. 4, and was released on bond shortly after.
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