Ex-Carrollton police officer sentenced to 60 years for child molestation
Jerric Gilbert was awarded the rank of corporate by the Carrollton Police Department on Nov. 5, 2021. (Carrollton Police Department)
CARROLLTON, Ga. - A former Carrollton school resource officer who was convicted of child molestation will spend decades in prison.
On Monday, Jerric Gilbert pleaded guilty in a Coweta County courtroom to two counts of child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, and violation of oath by a public officer.
Officials say they began investigating Gilbert, an officer assigned to one of the city's elementary schools, on April 21, 2022, after another student told her teacher that he "made her sister do something ‘nasty.’"
The child told the teacher that she and her older sister were not allowed to go to Gilbert's home, where they had gone before multiple times to get their hair done.
Police and the school's principal interviewed the victim, who told them that Gilbert had taken her into his home's basement to "look at shoes." While there, the ex-officer reportedly turned off the lights, pulled down his pants, and made her put her hands on his genitals.
After hearing from the victim, Gilbert was fired from the Carrollton Police Department and officials called the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
When GBI agents interviewed Gilbert, he reportedly admitted to bringing the young girl into his basement and exposing himself to her.
"The District Attorney’s Office is grateful to the numerous members of the Carrollton Police Department who attended the plea to stand with the victim, to stand with the State, and to stand with the community against their former coworker," the Coweta County Chief Assistant District Attorney Jep Bendinger said in a statement. "The District Attorney’s Office will do everything in its lawful power to protect child victims from sexual predators, regardless of their background."
After pleading guilty, a judge sentenced Gilbert to 60 years in prison, followed by another 15 on probation.