Powder Springs Man Gets 25 Years for Child Molestation

MARIETTA, GA -- A Powder Springs man has been sent to prison for sexual acts against a child.

Late Friday, a Cobb jury convicted David Elijah Rhodes, 20, of two counts of aggravated child molestation for acts he committed in 2012 against a 9-year-old boy. Rhodes was 16 at the time.

Evidence produced at the weeklong trial showed that the victim, a guest of the defendant’s family for a weekend in October, 2012, was sexually assaulted by the defendant when the defendant’s mother left him in charge of the boy and his 10-year-old brother as she ran errands.

The victim told jurors that the defendant committed two separate acts of sodomy upon him, one in the living room and one in the upstairs bathroom of the home located on Defoors Farm Trail.

Although the victim immediately told his brother about the assault, the incident was not reported to an adult until several days later. Rhodes was interviewed by police and admitted to having contact with the child’s body while the child was in the shower, but denied that he molested the boy.

On May 9, just before the jury was summoned for his trial, Rhodes backed out of a negotiated plea to the charges, citing concerns over becoming a registered sex offender.

“The victim and his family waited patiently for justice in this case,” said Assistant District Attorney Susan Treadaway, who prosecuted the case. “Although it was always the State’s goal not to put this now 12-year-old boy through the pain of reliving this incident on the witness stand in front of the defendant and a courtroom full of strangers, he stayed strong as he described these horrible acts committed against him. Through the love and support of his family, he can now begin to heal.”

Immediately after the verdict, Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert E. Flournoy sentenced Rhodes to 25 years in prison, followed by life on probation. Rhodes will also be required to register as a sex offender once he is released.