FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — A Peachtree City man will spend decades behind bars after pleading guilty to child molestation and child exploitation charges just before his trial was set to begin in Fayette County.
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According to the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, Jefferson Thurmond entered a guilty plea on June 2 to two counts of child molestation and one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The plea came before jury selection began in a trial before a Fayette County Superior Court judge.
Thurmond was sentenced to 60 years, with 40 years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation.
Prosecutors said they were prepared to present evidence showing that roughly a decade ago, while the victim was a minor, Thurmond sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Authorities said the abuse occurred at her home in Peachtree City and at another home in Coweta County.
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According to the district attorney’s office, the victim decided to come forward after learning Thurmond had recently begun sharing a room with his minor granddaughter, raising concerns for the child’s safety.
Prosecutors said Thurmond had already been found guilty by a Coweta County jury in a separate case involving the same victim and other minors. They said evidence from those crimes would have been presented had the Fayette County case gone to trial.
Although the defense asked prosecutors not to pursue the Fayette County charges because of the Coweta County conviction and sentence, the district attorney’s office said it was important that Thurmond be held accountable for the abuse that occurred in Fayette County as well.
“I am very proud of my office for their dedication to victims of these horrific crimes,” Acting District Attorney David Studdard said after sentencing. “I am equally proud of the victim in this case, a very courageous young woman who was brave enough to come forward and ensured that this predator met with justice.”
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