2 Georgia women accuse Hogansville man of childhood rape

TROUP COUNTY, Ga. - Troup County authorities arrested a 45-year-old Hogansville man after two women came forward alleging he raped them years ago when they were children.

What we know:

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office says this case started when a woman in her 20s reported she was raped at the age of 10 by a man named Jake Sweatt. As they began their investigation, a second woman, also in her 20s, came forward with her own allegations.

Deputies arrested Sweatt on April 10 and charged him with two counts of rape. 

Authorities say Sweatt committed the crimes many years ago in Troup County. They are now reaching out to the public for help finding any other potential victims.

What they're saying:

"We don't know if there are any other victims out there of Jake Sweatt. And so we're asking the public if you are a victim of his, or if you possibly know of crimes that he may have committed of that nature, to please call us here at the Sheriff's Office," said Lt. Stewart Smith of the Troup County Sheriff’s Office.

Big picture view:

Troup County authorities held a butterfly release this week to commemorate April as Child Abuse Awareness Month. With these alleged sexual assaults, the timing of the event was important to the sheriff’s investigators working this case.

"Those are very tough crimes to investigate, and it's very tough on the investigators to do those. And so when we can investigate those crimes, it doesn't matter when they occur, and we can bring justice to the victim, it means a lot to our investigators and for the families as well," Smith said.

What you can do:

Investigators encourage anyone who has information on crimes related to Sweatt to call the Troup County Sheriff’s Office at 706-883-1616.