Jury finds Florida man guilty of raping young girl in Georgia
Mark Anthony Starnes, 46, was found guilty of rape, two counts of aggravated child molestation, and two counts of child Molestation, by a Carroll County jury. (Carroll County Sheriff's Office).
CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. - A Florida man has been convicted for the rape and repeated molestation of a young girl over many years in Georgia.
Mark Anthony Starnes, 46, was found guilty of rape, two counts of aggravated child molestation, and two counts of child Molestation, by a Carroll County jury.
According to the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, Starnes raped, orally sodomized, and repeatedly molested the victim, from a young age until she was 12-years-old. Starnes was able to abuse the victim during this time period due to his relationship with the victim’s mother, which gave Starnes regular access to the victim. That access included staying in the same residence as the victim overnight and babysitting the victim, during which Starnes regularly sexually assaulted the victim. The last time Starnes raped and abused the victim in Carroll County was in 2019 when he came up from his new home in Florida to take her and her mother down to the beach.
Starnes was arrested in Florida in July 2020, and extradited to Carroll County where he remained in jail awaiting trial.
Sentencing has been scheduled for November 14.