photo by Jesse Miles Seals
A Dade County jury has convicted Jesse Miles Seals of child molestation following a two-day trial in Dade County Superior Court.
Judge Don Thompson sentenced Seals to a sentence of 20 years with 15 years to serve in the Department of Corrections, followed by probation under sex offender special conditions.
Prosecutors said, “The conviction followed courageous testimony from the victim where she described numerous inappropriate interactions with the defendant starting when he dated the victim’s older sister and the victim was around 12 years old.
“When the victim was 15, the defendant, who was 33 on the date of the incident, took the 15-year-old on a midnight drive and molested her.
“A witness testified to seeing the victim shortly after the molestation and described the victim as hyperventilating and in tears.”
The jury also heard from three other girls who described that when they were teenage girls they suffered inappropriate touchings and interactions by Seals, which prosecutors called “a disturbing pattern of predatory conduct.”
The case was investigated by Detective Misty McConathy of the Dade County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecution was led by District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller, with support from administrative staff Annabelle Carter, Tamara Clayton, Victim Advocate Amy Reed, and Chief Investigator Christy Smith.
In a statement, the victim said, “I want to thank District Attorney Fuller, Detective McConathy, and the entire DA’s Office for standing by me and believing me. I was scared, but they helped give me the strength to speak out and get justice for me and the other girls.”
District Attorney Fuller praised the victim’s courage and said, “If you’re a grown man who targets teenage girls in our community, expect to spend the next chapter of your life behind bars. I know Sheriff Ray Cross has my back on this: we don’t tolerate predators in Dade County – not now, not ever.”
This article was originally published by a www.chattanoogan.com . Read the Original article here. .