Ball Ground man convicted of 16 sex crimes involving children
Charles Lowry Douglas. Courtesy of Office of the District Attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit
A Ball Ground man has been found guilty of 16 felony sex crimes following a six-day trial involving allegations of abuse against multiple children.
What we know:
A Cherokee County jury convicted Charles Lowry Douglas, 57, on Monday of nine counts of child molestation and seven counts of sexual battery. He was acquitted of one count of aggravated child molestation and two additional counts of child molestation.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer L. Davis set sentencing for Sept. 9.
Investigation began in 2021
The backstory:
The case began in September 2021 when a Cherokee Sheriff's Office detective investigated allegations of child sexual abuse.
Five children who were either related to Douglas or otherwise knew him reported being sexually abused, according to the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office.
Authorities said the incidents occurred at homes in Holly Springs and Ball Ground over several years. Some of the children were as young as 6 or 7 when the alleged abuse began.
Six-day trial
Jurors heard from 11 witnesses, including the children and their mothers, law enforcement officers, a Georgia Division of Family and Children Services caseworker and a child sexual abuse expert.
The state presented more than 28 exhibits, including photographs, recorded interviews and text messages. Douglas also testified in his own defense.
After about seven hours of deliberations, jurors returned the 16 guilty verdicts and three acquittals.
The Cherokee Sheriff's Office investigated the case. Assistant District Attorney Leyna Pope of the Special Victims Unit prosecuted it.