Clayton DA, DFCS, shelter accused of child abuse cover-up in lawsuit

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A sweeping lawsuit filed this week in Clayton County State Court alleges a coordinated cover-up of child sexual abuse involving Georgia state agencies, nonprofit leaders, religious institutions, and Clayton County officials.

What we know:

The complaint centers on the repeated sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl placed in state custody and housed at Rainbow House, Inc., a DFCS-approved youth emergency shelter located in Jonesboro.

ORIGINAL STORY: Police: Youth shelter employee sexually assaults child, 2 others try to cover it up

Among those named in the lawsuit are Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley—who previously served as chair of the Rainbow House board—Rainbow House Executive Director Mia Chanel Kimber, convicted abuser Caleb Xavier Randolph, the Georgia Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS), New Life Church & Community Center, Clayton County, and former Commission Chairman Jeffrey Turner.

Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Roger Soroka of Soroka & Associates and Bryan Sutlive of Sutlive Law.

Case Summary

What they're saying:

In April 2022, the victim’s mother sought help from New Life Church’s "Hotels to Homes" program. When the church contact failed to arrive, local police intervened, and DFCS removed the child from school without parental consent. The complaint suggests the church’s outreach program may have funneled vulnerable families into state custody.

PREVIOUS STORY: At least 4 employees arrested in sexual assault, cover-up at youth shelter; More victims discovered

While in DFCS care, the girl endured neglect and deprivation before being placed at Rainbow House. There, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Caleb Randolph, the son of Rainbow House Executive Director Mia Chanel Kimber. Randolph had been fired for prior misconduct but was rehired just over a week later and given full access to children.

Caleb Randolph. Photo courtesy of Clayton County Police Department

In addition to Randolph, the girl was allegedly abused by other male and female staff members. Randolph was later arrested, pleaded guilty to sexual crimes against a minor, and is currently incarcerated.

Despite prior warnings and evidence of misconduct, Rainbow House leadership—including Kimber—failed to report the abuse. Surveillance footage reportedly corroborates some of the assaults. Kimber and two staff members were arrested for failure to report. Charges against two of them were later dropped after it was revealed they did notify authorities. Kimber is accused of concealing evidence and maintaining Randolph’s access to minors.

Mia Kimber. Photo courtesy of Clayton County Police Department

District Attorney Tasha Mosley, who served on Rainbow House’s board during the time of the abuse, is accused of violating her legal duty of oversight and failing to act on a pattern of noncompliance. DFCS is also named for ignoring red flags, failing to monitor placements, and allegedly removing the girl from her mother without proper legal authority.

Tasha Mosley (Credit: Clayton County District Attorney's website)

Response to lawsuit

The other side:

Clayton County District Attorney Tasha Mosley provided the following statement:

I do categorically deny all of the allegations in the lawsuit. The Board of Directors was not responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Rainbow House thus, was not involved in any manner with staffing other than the hiring of the Executive Director. I was not the Chair of the BOD when M. Kimber was hired, but the BOD was notified by the Chair at the time that Ms. Kimber passed all required background screens.

There was no previous outcry or any other communication regarding this situation made known to the BOD or myself. The first that I heard of this situation was when I was notified that the Rainbow House was being searched (at the very moment of notification) under a search warrant based on an active investigation by Clayton County PD and that there were employee arrests expected. At the time I was made aware of the search warrant, I hadn’t been a member of the Board for several months.