CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Marietta man will spend decades in prison after pleading guilty to molesting a child he was entrusted to babysit, the Office of the District Attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit announced.
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Jarrod Donte Luster, 39, pled guilty June 15 to two counts of child molestation. He was sentenced to 30 years, with the first 20 to be served in prison and the remainder on probation under sex offender special conditions. The case had been set for a jury trial this week.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office opened the investigation in November 2023 after a 14-year-old came forward and disclosed that Luster had touched him inappropriately when he was eight years old. Luster was a close family friend with frequent access to the child.
During a forensic interview, the child described being touched while Luster was babysitting in 2018, while his mother was hospitalized. As the investigation continued, three more children from the extended family came forward with similar disclosures involving Luster, in incidents that occurred outside Cherokee County.
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“This defendant insidiously embedded himself within an extended family to gain access to their children,” said Assistant District Attorney Meaghan Frankish of the Special Victims Unit, who prosecuted the case. “He spent years cultivating trust, grooming each child over time, and carefully selecting moments to commit his offenses. His actions were calculated and predatory.”
At sentencing, the court heard six impact statements from family members describing the lasting trauma caused by Luster’s actions. One parent said Luster had become deeply integrated into the family, attending holidays and gatherings, known to the children as “Uncle J.”
Another parent said the betrayal was difficult to put into words, describing Luster as having hidden his true self behind a carefully maintained facade.
In addition to prison time and probation, Luster must register as a sex offender, have no contact with anyone under 18, and have no contact with any of the four victims or their families.
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