College Park Man And Friend Sentenced For Statutory Rape Involving 13-Year-Old Girl

ATLANTA, GA – A College Park man will spend the next eight years in prison after pleading guilty to statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Doris Downs sentenced Joshua Arnold, 37, on Wednesday to 15 years, 12 of which are to be served in prison after he pled guilty to

The incident dates back to September 1, 2015 when College Park police received a call from an 11-year-old girl who told them she had nowhere to go, according to court records. When police arrived at the location on Jackson Street, the young girl informed police she had run away from her home with a 13-year-old friend the night before. The younger victim told police the 13-year-old was at an apartment near their location with Arnold.

Detectives proceeded to the location described by the 11-year-old and found the 13-year-old victim hiding naked in a closet. The victim immediately made an outcry to detectives that the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with her at least five times.

Upon further investigation, detectives learned the 11-year-old victim also engaged in sexual intercourse with a friend of Arnold’s, 28-year-old Derrick Taylor. The two defendants met the two minors soon after the girls left home. The men gave the minors drugs such as marijuana and a drug called beanie (a nickname for methamphetamine) before taking advantage of the girls sexually.

Taylor also pled guilty to statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to 15 years, and must serve eight in prison.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Cara Convery and Senior Assistant District Attorney Rudy Harris prosecuted the case with assistance from District Attorney Investigators Marshal English and Investigator Governor Henderson. Detective A. Clements from the College Park Police Department was the lead investigator.

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