COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Editor note: The video attached to this story is from previous coverage.
Prominent TV Judge Glenda Hatchett is suing former Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody. She's seeking legal fees and damages from Coody and the Georgia Sheriffs' Association in a jury trial.
The suit, filed Jan. 17 in Cobb County State Court, builds upon Coody's guilty plea to sexual battery in August. He admitted to groping Hatchett's breast at a January 2022 Georgia Sheriffs' Association event in a Cobb County hotel bar.
Hatchett's complaint details what happened at the bar and gives five reasons for filing suit.
Count I is a claim for Civil Battery. Count II is for emotional distress. Count III alleges the Georgia Sheriffs' Association knew Coody had a "history of habitual intoxication and a record of assault that was known or should have been known to the Georgia Sheriffs' Association." Counts IV and V handle other damages and legal fees.
In court Aug. 23, 2023, Hatchett told Judge Carl Bowers her side of what happened.
"This has cut me to the core," Hatchett said. "For this man to come up and violate me like he did is unspeakable."
Hatchett's friend, U.S. Marshall and former Dekalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, told Judge Bowers he brought Hatchett to the event to network for her consulting business.
"I wanted to introduce her to some sheriffs and deputies, so I invited her there," he explained at the time.
He introduced Hatchett to Coody and turned to speak with someone else. Brown said when he turned back around, he saw Coody's hand on Hatchett's breast.
But the court documents provide an even more crystalized timeline of events.
They say Hatchett told Coody she wasn't familiar with Bleckley County, and that's when he "suddenly poked [Hatchett] in the chest and proceeded to grab her left breast, rubbing, and squeezing it, while saying it was, 'right in the heart of Georgia,'" the complaint read.
In a court appearance, Brown said that he saw the assault right after it happened.
"I saw his hand on her chest and immediately removed it. And directed to him, 'What are you doing?' And immediately removed Judge Hatchett from the scene," Brown said.
After Coody's guilty plea, Bowers sentenced him to 12 months of probation and 40 hours of community service. He gave Coody a $500 fine, ordered him to take an alcohol and drug abuse course and submit to a psychosexual evaluation.
Coody, who resigned as sheriff shortly before the hearing, apologized in a statement and said he didn't mean to touch Hatchett inappropriately.
"To be clear, I had no intent to touch Ms. Hatchett inappropriately. Unfortunately, I acted in a careless manner and for that I have taken full responsibility for my actions," his statement read in part.
13WMAZ reached out to Coody. He has not responded.
So far, there is no date set for a hearing or trial.