SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — Two Spalding County employees are out of a job after a woman accused them of sexual harassment and stalking, and a criminal investigation is ongoing to determine if they should be charged.
The two worked in the Code Enforcement office, located in the county courthouse annex in Griffin.
The investigation began about two weeks ago when the woman reported to Lovejoy police that someone had placed a tracking device on her personal car, then she told the county manager about it.
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“And the allegations that she shared with us were extremely concerning and we immediately took action,” said Dr. Steve Ledbetter, the county manager.
She told Ledbetter that she had been sexually harassed by her immediate supervisor and a co-worker. Ledbetter called on Sheriff Darrell Dix to conduct a thorough criminal and internal review.
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“She turned over some text messages to us that had been sent to her by her immediate supervisor,” Dix said. “And those text messages were coming from a county-issued phone.”
Dix said investigators interviewed the employees, and they denied knowing anything about a tracking device on her car.
But he said the supervisor admitted that he sent sexually explicit text messages, and the other employee admitted to making verbal comments to the woman.
While the allegations are troubling, Dix said his investigators so far have not found evidence of criminal behavior.
“There was no physical contact that we know of,” he said. “They definitely violated policy, they violated ethics and moral code.”
Channel 2 Action News is not identifying the employees because they have not been criminally charged.
Dix said during the course of the investigation, the wife of the supervisor accused of sexual harassment called the victim. The wife, he said, is an investigator for the State Court Solicitor-General’s Office, which is the lead prosecutor for misdemeanor crimes, traffic violations and county ordinance violations.
“Regardless of circumstances, you don’t call the victim of stalking and sexual harassment, identify yourself as the wife, identify your role as an investigator, infer your authority to the victim by what you say about using investigative means to find things out, and start questioning the victim about what she reported,” Dix said in a statement. “The only questioning should be directed to her husband about the sexual harassment and other things he admitted to.”
He said the interim state court solicitor is reviewing the phone call.
Ledbetter said the alleged behavior of these two former employees is unacceptable, and he urges all employees who feel unsafe, intimidated, harassed or disrespected should speak up immediately to their supervisors or take their concerns straight to him.
“We want our employees to be safe,” he said. “We want them to work in a very productive, effective environment. And to get to that point, safety is paramount.”
“And I want our community to know that if and when we do hear of these incidences, that we’re going to deal with them immediately and swiftly.”
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