Crime & Safety
Watkinsville Man, a State Labor Employee, Accused of Molestation and Sexual Battery
The alleged abuse reportedly occurred over the last six years, according to Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry. An arrest doesn't mean a conviction.
A Watkinsville man was taken into custody on Thursday on charges of child molestation and sexual battery.
"We found out about this yesterday,"Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said. "We developed some information and took him into custody [during a traffic stop]."
John David Cooper, 44, of Stonebridge Circle, was booked around 5:30 p.m. on one count each of child molestation, sexual battery, and electronically furnishing obscene materials to a minor, according to jail records.
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"The evidence is that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female from the time she was 12 to the time she was 18," Berry said.
Cooper is currently being held without bond at the Oconee County Jail pending a hearing, according to Berry, and the investigation is ongoing.
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Cooper is employed by the Georgia Department of Labor as an information technology manager in the Atlanta office, according to GDOL Communications Director Sam Hall.
"We are cooperating with law enforcement officials regarding this matter," Hall said. "Mr. Cooper has been suspended pending an investigation."
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