ATLANTA — New year, new you – and new Georgia laws.

On Jan. 1, several bills signed by Gov. Brian Kemp during the 2019-20 legislative session will take effect.

Among them is the controversial “Police Hate Crimes Bill,” signed in response to a broader hate crimes bill passed after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery – a Black jogger shot and killed while being pursued by a white father-son duo in south Georgia.

There are several other bills designed to protect consumers – including the “Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act,” and a bill that would regulate some automatic renewals for some contract services.

From surprise medical billing to designating an official state grape, here are some of the laws that take effect in the new year.

This bill would require physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to submit to an FBI background check through the Georgia Crime Information Center in order to be licensed in the state.

The bill would change the name of the Office of Public Safety Officer Support within the state Department of Public Safety to the Office of Public Safety Support.

However, during the summer, it also became known as the “Police Hate Crimes Bill,” as anyone found to “intimidate, harass or terrorize” a police officer, because they are a police officer, would be guilty of a bias-motivated crime – i.e. a hate crime.

Also called the Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act, this bill would provide for certain consumer protections against surprise billing. It would also establish methods to resolve payment disputes between insurers and out-of-network providers and an arbitration process.

It would allow military spouses licensed in other states to practice certain professions and occupations and obtain a license to practice in this state.

Would revise the information required to be provided by sexual offenders when they register in order to allow a sexual offender who is in a state or privately operated hospice facility, skilled nursing home, or residential health care facility to satisfy the annual registration requirements by registering at any time during the sexual offender’s month of birth and to remove the requirement that a sexual offender in those facilities be fingerprinted – with the approval of the sheriff of the county where the offender lives.

This bill pertains to Georgia’s booming film and entertainment industry and would move certain sound recordings from “qualified production activities” to production expenditures.

This bill pertains to automatic renewals and would provide additional protections for consumers who enter into contracts that “contain lengthy automatic renewal provisions.”

Also called Lacee’s Law, the bill would provide coverage under the state health benefits plan for additional screening to individuals at high risk of breast cancer.

Another bill related to medical billing would prohibit certain insurers from imposing a copayment, coinsurance, or office visit charge greater than charges for physician or osteopath services to an insured person for services rendered by a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or chiropractor.

This bill would restrict some criminal histories and arrest information after a certain time period if “conditions are met since a conviction.”

This bill would remove “redundant” processes involving the removal of “unattended vessels” in public waters.

SB 310 would set up certain regulations related to boxing, wrestling, and martial art associations and federations.

The bill would revise the definition, require continuing education, and outline unlawful practices, among other things. It would also provide the issuance of certificates of registration to professionals.

This bill would allow for the re-employment, training, and compensation of retired peace officers and correctional officers during disasters and emergencies.

The bill would designate the muscadine grape as the “official state grape.”

This bill would allow for state investment in railways and railroad facilities and equipment.

The Senate bill would revise garnishment proceedings. It would provide for “uniform procedures” for garnishment actions, provide definitions, and limit the maximum part of disposable earnings subject to garnishment in relation to certain educational or student loans.

Release:

Bryan County man sentenced to federal prison for attempted coercion of a child for sexual activity

Wife previously sentenced for tampering with witness

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Bryan County man who admitted attempting to coerce a child into sexual activity has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Michael Wilson, 38, of Richmond Hill, Ga., was sentenced to 180 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore Jr. after pleading guilty to Attempted Coercion of a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Wilson also is required to pay $100,000 each to two minor victims in restitution, and after completion of his prison term will be required to serve 15 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Wilson’s wife, Lori Wilson, a/k/a “Loretta Lightningbolt,” 35, of Richmond Hill, Ga., previously was sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to Tampering with a Victim or Witness. While Michael Wilson was under investigation, Lori Wilson tried to persuade a victim to recant accusations that he attempted to coerce the minor to engage in illegal sexual activity from 2017 through early 2019.

“Victimization of vulnerable children rightly deserves harsh penalties, and we applaud our law enforcement partners for their difficult work in bringing this despicable pair to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “These horrific crimes have earned a significant sentence.”

Michael Wilson, an active duty member of the military, also is charged with seven violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 120(b), Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child. These charges are pending and relate to multiple minor victims.

“This sentence wraps up a traumatic chapter in a young child’s life after being taken advantage of by an adult,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “No matter how severe the sentence it will never wipe away the scars left on this innocent child, but it will hopefully send a deterrent message to anyone contemplating similar predatory activity.”

“This prison sentence punishes Wilson for his conduct and serves as a clear warning to those considering similar abhorrent conduct that Army CID, and our federal law enforcement partners will fully investigate such allegations and seek incarceration and restitution,” said Chris Grey, spokesman for Army Criminal Investigation Command.

The cases are being investigated by the FBI and by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katelyn Semales and Jennifer G. Solari.

ATHENS, Ga. — An ex-University of Georgia professor who admitted to possessing hundreds of images of child pornography entered a guilty plea in federal court on Tuesday, according to Peter D. Leary, the acting US Attorney for Georgia’s middle district.

Leary said 39-year-old James Edward Monogan III of Athens pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography before US District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal. Monogan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, followed by a maximum lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

A sentencing date for Monogan has not yet been scheduled. There is no parole in the federal penal system.

“Monogan actively participated in the evil world of child pornography and brazenly engaged in his criminal behavior using a computer belonging to his employer. He will spend many years inside a federal prison for his crime, ” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for tirelessly working to protect the most vulnerable members of our society and holding child sex offenders accountable.”

According to his plea agreement, Homeland Security Investigations‘ Atlanta Office received information in 2019 that a user of the KIK Messenger app had distributed child pornography in February 2019. HSI-Atlanta learned of a second child pornography complaint for a second KIK user.

Investigators determined that both usernames belonged to Monogan.

In addition, Monogan’s office at UGA was also searched, Leary said.

A forensic review of Monogan’s devices determined that a total of 452 images and eight videos depicting child sexual exploitation were found on his UGA laptop, along with an additional 119 images of child sexual exploitation on his cell phone. Some images involved minors under the age of 12, the evidence indicated.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

Dec. 15—MARIETTA — Justin Ross Harris, the Cobb County man who four years ago was convicted of murdering his 20-month-old son, began his appeal for a new trial Monday morning.

Represented by Marietta attorney Mitch Durham, the defense argued that a number of errors in the original trial deeply compromised Harris’s ability to receive fair treatment in court.

Harris attended the hearing through a video stream from Macon State Prison. Clad in a white jumpsuit, he occasionally took notes throughout the day, but was otherwise silent. Both Durham and the prosecutor, Linda Dunikoski, senior assistant district attorney for Cobb County, also joined the hearing via Zoom.

Much of Monday’s proceedings were devoted to the testimony of Dr. David Diamond, a neuroscience professor at the University of South Florida who has studied what causes parents to accidentally leave their children in cars.

Diamond was initially expected to testify in the original trial as an expert witness. But Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark, who presided over both the trial and Monday’s hearing, ordered Diamond in 2016 to hand over as evidence notes he had taken during meetings with Harris. Harris’s defense claimed it was placed in an “untenable position,” and ultimately declined to call Diamond to the stand.

Now the defense says handing over those notes was an improper use of discovery laws, and that it tainted the trial.

During the hearing, Durham and Dunikoski cross-examined Diamond on his medical expertise and specifics of Harris’s case. According to Diamond, evidence including Harris’s lack of sleep the night prior and that he broke his usual morning routine suggested the child’s death could have been a mere accident.

Following Diamond’s appearance, the court heard the testimony of Maddox Kilgore, who led Harris’s defense in the 2016 trial. Kilgore said Diamond had been the defense’s “primary witness” and “cleanup hitter,” but the disclosure of his confidential notes “scuttled” that strategy.

“We had hoped and expected David Diamond to be able to testify that what was observed in this case was consistent with memory failure he had seen in numerous, numerous other cases,” Kilgore said.

Near the end of Kilgore’s testimony, a testy exchange arose between him and Dunikoski as Kilgore argued that Diamond’s notes should not have been released.

“So, your fear was actually of the state’s attorneys being so good?” Dunikoski asked.

“You betcha. You betcha,” Kilgore said, raising his voice. “The state put its meaning to those words. A mediocre lawyer can do that, and the lawyers in this case were better than mediocre. They were very good.”

“What’s exactly going on right now? Y’all are talking over one another. I’m not sure why,” Judge Staley Clark said, shortly before adjourning for the day.

The hearing will resume Tuesday morning. The defense is expected to touch on further areas in which they say Harris was denied due process. Among those is the argument that Harris should have been separately tried for the alleged sex offenses that catapulted the case from notorious to scandalous.

Harris was revealed to have conducted multiple extramarital affairs while married to his then-wife, Leanna Cooper. The prosecution charged that Harris’s motive for the killing, in which he left Cooper Harris in the car for seven hours, was to start a new life free from the burdens of his wife and child.

Following his 2016 trial, Harris was convicted of malice murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was also convicted of felony murder, cruelty to children, and distribution of obscene materials to a minor.

At the lunch break, Durham told Judge Staley Clark that he believed the hearing was ahead of schedule, and he did not anticipate needing the three full days set aside for the appeal.

News

Courtney Wild’s attorney told the court, “She wants to go to the prosecutors in Florida and say, ‘Prosecute the men and women who abused me.’ “

Courtney Wild, left, and Michelle Licata, center, alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, exit federal court in New York, U.S., on Monday, July 8, 2019. Epstein used his wealth and power to sexually abuse dozens of young girls for years at one of the biggest mansions in Manhattan, paying them hundreds of dollars in cash for each encounter and hundreds more if they brought in more victims, U.S. prosecutors said. Photo: Louis Lanzano/Bloomberg.

The entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit heard an appeal Thursday morning that could result in the prosecution of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators.

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Investigators say that a man sexually assaulted a girl and fathered her child more than eight years ago.

Devashia Oneil Maddox was arrested Monday and charged with statutory sex offense with a child by an adult, rape of a child by an adult and kidnapping.

The 32 year old was picked up a week after allegations from another accuser were lodged against him. That case is still being investigated.

According to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Maddox sexually assaulted a girl who was under the age of 16 multiple times between eight and nine years ago. Those encounters resulted in the birth of a child, according to Detective Matthew Sadler.

Sadler said the investigation is in its early stages, and Maddox could have used other personal relationships to sexually assault additional children.

“It’s so early it’s hard to know what the scope will be,” he said. “Generally, it’s not just one victim out there… We’re still exploring other possible victims.”

Maddox was put in the Cleveland County Detention Center before posting a $100,000 bond.

Maddox is on probation for convictions of drug possession and resisting an officer in Georgia in December 2019, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

Sadler said that anyone with information on allegations against Maddox should call him at 704-484-4888.

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©2020 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

MACON, Ga. — More than 80 people in Georgia have been arrested in connection with a nationwide operation that targeted suspected online child sex offenders.

On Tuesday, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force announced the results of its participation in Operation ‘Broken Heart.’

A total of 1,700 suspected offenders were arrested between the months of April and May 2019 – and 81 were in Georgia.

Throughout Operation Broken Heart, 61 task forces across America investigated more than 18,500 complaints of crimes targeting children helped by technology.

They also gave more than 2,150 presentations on internet safety to 201,000 kids and adults.

The US Department of Justice says 308 of the 1,700 arrests are suspected of producing child porn or sexual abuse. Additionally, they found 357 kids who were victims of that abuse or were used in the child porn.

RELATED HEADLINES

ATLANTA — A sex offender rights group is accusing the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office of overstepping Georgia’s sex offender registration laws.

NARSOL Executive Director Brenda Jones, in the letter, writes the requirements the sheriff’s office is imposing are considered harassment. The letter includes four specific claims against the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.

Second, deputies are accused of leaving cards demanding registrants call or face arrest, in excess of required sex offender renewal requirements.

“You do not have any authority to arrest a person who chooses not to call,” the letter states. “Registrants are not required to call the sheriff’s office simply because a deputy would like to have them do so.”

Third, deputies are described in the letter as knocking on doors and demanding to speak with registrants “outside of reasonable hours” and beyond what state law details.

Fourth, sex offender list registrants are also claiming when renewing or updating their information, the sheriff’s office is requiring them to write down their work hours – a requirement not listed in state law.

In the letter, Jones writes that NARSOL recognizes the sheriff’s duty to enforce sex offender registration laws, but adds, “those statutory requirements have no provision for a sheriff to impose his/her own additional obligations rather than enforcing only the legal obligations required of a sex offender.”

Jones said that her organization is asking the sheriff’s office to respond to the claims in the letter within 30 days to “avoid costly litigation.”

But one legal expert 11Alive spoke to said the actions of sheriff’s deputies may be perfectly legal.

According to criminal defense attorney Chelsea Thomas, who is familiar with Georgia’s requirements for registered sex offenders, if a sex offender is currently under a probation order, they may have specific requirements they must follow that go beyond the requirements for a registered offender who has completed their sentence. That could include having to check-in more regularly with local law enforcement and having to give additional information about their employment.

11Alive has reached out to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office to discuss the claims made in the letter from NARSOL.

“After an internal review of our policies and procedures and also a discussion with the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, we believe the accusations contained in the cease and desist request to be without merit,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “It is the mandated duty and responsibility of all sheriffs to keep the public informed of sex offenders in their jurisdictions.

“In an abundance of caution we will request a legal opinion from county attorneys to insure that we are applying the laws correctly but also protecting and informing the law abiding citizens of Cobb County.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.

MORE HEADLINES

ATLANTA — A federal judge has issued a ruling favoring – in part – three registered sex offenders who sued the Butts County Sheriff, calling the “no trick-or-treat” signs the sheriff placed in their yards an abuse of power.

Last year, Butts County Sheriff Gary Long had deputies place the signs in the yards of the registered sex offenders in the days leading up to Halloween, alerting parents and trick-or-treaters that they should avoid those homes.

“My office took precautions and placed signs indicating ‘No Trick-or-Treat’ at each registered sex offender’s residence in the County,” Sheriff Long said. “This was done to ensure the safety of our children.”

Georgia state law prohibits registered sex offenders from placing Halloween decorations on their property. But several of the sex offenders objected to the signs, saying it made them a target and was an overreach by the sheriff. Three of those offenders ended up filing suit, arguing that the yard signs went too far – breaking the law in the name of enforcing the law.

“State law does require him to notify the public in very specific ways, and none of those ways includes placing signs on registrants’ lawns,” explained Mark Yurachek, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

According to the lawsuit, the offenders questioned whether the sheriff “exceeded his authority” in putting up the signs and whether deputies trespassed on their properties in doing so. The suit also says the deputies’ actions caused harm, including “anxiety, embarrassment and humiliation,” and damaged their ability to trust law enforcement. They sought a jury trial and damages.

A federal judge heard arguments in court last week and handed back the decision, Tuesday.

“The question the Court must answer is not whether Sheriff Long’s plan is wise or moral, or whether it makes penological sense. Rather, the question is whether Sheriff Long’s plan runs afoul of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It does,” the ruling states.

In the ruling, the judge granted the named plaintiffs’ motion to prevent the sheriff’s office from posting the signs in the named plaintiffs’ yards. However, the judge declined to offer damages. The court also declined to enter into a sweeping injunction in favor of all registered sex offender, but warned the sheriff’s office “should be aware that the authority for their blanket sign posting is dubious at best and even more dubious if posted over the objection of registrants.”

The court continued, saying that the ruling does not limit the sheriff’s discretion “to act on specific information suggesting a risk to public safety. But he cannot post the signs over the named Plaintiffs’ objections simply because their names are on the registry.”

In a statement to 11Alive following the judge’s ruling, Yurachek, the attorney, said his clients were “thankful” to the court’s “thoughtful and measured decision.”

“There is a long way to go in this action and, although we decline further comment specifically addressing the litigation, we are hopeful that this decision indicates that, as with this preliminary issue, we will prevail in the permanent injunction action and the lawsuit in general,” the statement continued. “We hope for and wish that every child in Butts County and in every community in the country enjoys a joyful and safe Halloween and note, as the Court’s opinion did, that the lack of signs in front of registrants’ homes will not affect either their joy or their safety this year or any other year.”

He added that he would hope the ruling gives the sheriff “pause about putting up signs this Halloween or in the future.”

11Alive reached out the sheriff’s office for a comment on the ruling. They posted a response on their Facebook page saying they will continue to fight the lawsuit, but will not put up any yard signs while the suit is pending.

“The judge in this matter has ruled that I can NOT put signs on the right-of-way of the three offenders that filed the lawsuit. While I respectfully and strongly disagree with the judge’s ruling, I must abide by the ruling,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff added that he sought advice from the Prosecuting Attorneys Council in 2018 before deputies placed the signs, who gave specific instructions on how to place them in compliance with Georgia Law.

In lieu of the signs, the sheriff said he will keep a “very strong presence” in the neighborhoods where there are known sex offenders. He also added that while some may be disappointed with the ruling, he strongly encouraged they “NOT take matters into your own hands this Halloween.”

“We understand frustration with the Judge’s ruling, but we all must abide by it unless it is overturned on appeal. Unfortunately, there is no time to appeal before this Halloween,” the sheriff said. “My promise to the citizens of Butts County is to protect the public, especially the children.”

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