Judge Hatchett holds back tears as she speaks publicly for first time about groping incident

ATLANTA — Judge Glenda Hatchett was emotional about the outpouring of support she received after a sheriff was accused of groping her during an event last year.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with Hatchett on Tuesday about the incident, which is the first time she has spoken publicly about it.

She told Seiden she couldn’t get into the specific details, citing the ongoing criminal case, but she got emotional when she talked about how a Georgia sheriff is accused of groping her last year while inside a hotel bar in Cobb County.

“I really am going to tear up,” Hatchett said holding back tears. “The love and support that I have gotten from this community… I don’t have words to describe it. I am enormously grateful.”

She is known to so many as TV’s Judge Hatchett.

An arrest warrant alleges Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody grabbed Hatchett’s chest at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Bar while attending the Georgia Sheriffs Association’s winter meeting in January 2022.

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Coody is charged with one count of sexual battery.

At the time, a spokesman for Coody said he was taking the allegations seriously.

Hatchett, the first African American chief presiding judge of a state court in Georgia, announced Tuesday that she has joined the prominent Atlanta-based law firm Stewart Miller Simmons trial attorneys.

Seiden asked her if last year’s incident played a role in her decision to join the firm.

“That is a fair question. No, it did not play in my decision to join this firm and I hope you’ll appreciate that because that case is still in the court system and has not been resolved on the criminal side, that I won’t say more than that,” Hatchett said.

At last check, Seiden was told that Coody was still working on a plea deal with Cobb County prosecutors.

Seiden attempted to get an update from prosecutors on Tuesday, but he’s still working to get the exact status of the case.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Supporters of Judge Hatchett want Gov. Kemp to suspend sheriff charged with groping her

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