Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody releases statement after arrest for sexual battery

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody has released a statement following his arrest for misdemeanor sexual battery involving a prominent judge.

According to the statement, Coody returned early from a planned church mission trip when he learned of the charges and turned himself in.

Sheriff Coody is taking the charges “very seriously,” has retained legal counsel, and will comply with all legal obligations placed upon him, according to the statement.

The statement also says that Sheriff Coody understands it would be improper to contact the other party at this time, but he “looks forward to personally expressing his regrets for any offense at the appropriate opportunity.”

Coody also says in the statement that he hopes the allegations do not reflect on the exemplary work performed every day by the men and women of the Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office and apologized to any inconvenience to reporters covering the story due to his mission trip.

The alleged sexual battery reportedly happened on Jan. 18 during a sheriff’s convention at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly in Cobb County.

A CBS46 investigation revealed that Coody was terminated from the Georgia State Patrol in 2007.

A case summary details two allegations of “improper conduct” including a “domestic dispute” between Sheriff Coody and a friend. According to agency documentation, “The argument became a pushing and shoving match and it escalated in volume and violence.”

The same case summary also indicates that Sheriff Coody allegedly allowed a 12-year-old girl to drive his patrol cruiser. According to agency documentation, “An independent witness confirmed seeing the child driving the patrol unit on the highway while this officer’s brother rode in the passenger’s seat of the marked vehicle.”

Coody’s certification was put on probation for 2 years after that. He also had to take an anger management course. Meanwhile, he worked for Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office between 2007 and 2008 and was a peace officer with the Georgia Department of Agriculture from 2008 to 2011. He went back to Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office in 2011 and was elected sheriff in 2017.