News

District Attorney's Offices Wear Blue to Raise Awareness for Child Abuse Prevention

Both the Newton and Walton County District Attorney's Offices recently wore blue for Nation Child Abuse Prevention Month. There is a National push each April to raise awareness for the prevention of child abuse. Sadly, our offices often deal with child abuse after it occurs. But we, of course, can hope that future child abuse is prevented.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month recognizes the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. Prevention services and supports developed by this collaboration can help to protect children and strengthen families. If you want to learn more, please visit our offices' website at https://www.alcovydaoffice.org/victim-services or visit https://preventchildabuse.org/buildingtogether2023/. - DA Randy McGinley

Alcovy Circuit Accountability Courts lead to less repeat offenses

Recently, the Georgia Council of Accountability Court Judges issue a Recidivism Analysis Report for accountability courts across the State. For the Alcovy Circuit, we received the reports for the Newton County Felony Drug Court (which allows Walton County residents), the Newton County Resource Court, and Walton County Resource Court. These reports were issued earlier this year and show the data for the five year period of 2016 through 2021.

According to District Attorney Randy McGinley, "These reports show that individuals that successfully complete these programs are very likely to not commit further crimes, but instead be great members of our community and great family members. As you can see, each the average participant has a criminal history of multiple arrests including multiple arrests for violations of probation."

"Those that complete our Drug or Resource Court programs are extremely less likely to be rearrested for a new offense in the 24 and 36 months that follow their graduation than those that are terminated from the program. Of note, the percentage of graduates from these programs that have a new arrest within 24 months of their completion is only 8% for Drug Court, 5% for Walton County Resource Court, and 0% for Newton County Resource Court. Compare that to 53%, 50%, and 55% respectively for those Courts for individuals that were terminated from the program."

"I want to highlight the hard work and dedication of the prosecutors that have been a part of these Courts. Chief Assistant District Attorney Amber Dally (pictured on the right) has handled Drug Court responsibilities for years, while Deputy Chief Assistant Jillian Hall (pictured on the left) has handled Resource Court in both Counties. They both have a large caseload of other cases, including murders and other serious felonies, but they also spend countless hours every week working with these Accountability Courts."

Our Drug Court "is designed to coordinate substance abuse intervention with judicial support through an immediate sanctions and incentives process." The primary goal of the Court is "to reduce recidivism through substance abuse intervention with immediate judicial review that supports addressing the offender's substance abuse problem"

Our Resource Courts are designed to "address the needs of individuals diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness who have committed criminal act(s)…. The Resource Court provides treatment to court participants in conjunction with community supervision by the Sheriff's Department and Probation Officers and drug testing to address the underlying causes of criminal activity and recidivism."

District Attorney and Walton County Sheriff's Office Investigator to model in fundraiser:

The Athens Clarke County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, Inc. (ACC SANE) holds its inaugural fashion show and silent auction on March 16 at 7pm at Akademia Brewing Company in Athens. The benefit is called “What They Were Wearing.” This title has two meanings. First, it was chosen to dispel the victim-blaming myth that the clothing someone is wearing somehow invites a sexual assault. The survivors of sexual assault and rape are not responsible for their attack. Second, the title highlights the fundraising aspect of the show. Models include high profile individuals from Walton, Clarke, Oconee, Barrow and other surrounding Counties. These models will showcase spring clothing lines from local retailers.

The event will raise money for ACC SANE, which provides numerous services including medical services for the evaluation of victims of sexual assault and abuse. District Attorney Randy McGinley and Walton County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Alicia Chandler will be two of the models for the benefit. While tickets for the fashion show are sold out, but Walton County residents can still participate and raise money for ACC SANE.

District Attorney Randy McGinley, elected to serve both Walton and Newton Counties, has spent much of his career handling cases involving rape and sexual assault. “Our society has come a long way in how it views sexual assault. However, we still hear ‘what was she wearing?’ or ‘she didn’t act like a rape victim.’ The District Attorney’s Office handles cases involving sexual assault in a way that minimizes any re-victimization of the survivor of the assault. Our prosecutors, victim advocates, and investigators are highly experienced and highly trained in handling the most difficult of these cases.” McGinley said. “I also believe that working together with great organizations like ACC SANE, our law enforcement partners, and other organizations that serve Walton County leads to the best outcomes in sexual assault cases. I am looking forward to ‘modeling’ for this extremely important event.”

Investigator Alicia Chandler has been involved in sexual assault and rape cases both as a law enforcement investigator and a forensic interviewer of child victims of sexual and physical abuse. About the What They Were Wearing event, Chandler said, “I am honored to be involved in this because of the 1700 children that I have met in my career and shared their story. They are more brave than most of us will ever be. I am participating to show families that there is a very wide range of how victims of sexual assault respond and that there is no ‘normal’ response to such abuse.”

District Attorney McGinley added that one of the first sexual assault trials he ever handled in Walton County was a case that Inv. Chandler was the lead detective. It involved charges of rape and child molestation involving multiple victims by a man who had been a foster parent in Walton County. Working together on that case and numerous cases since then, both McGinley and Chandler have always strived to put victims and survivors of sexual assault first.

If you would like to find out more about the event and the models, visit: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/Model.

Links for District Attorney McGinley and Investigator Chandler: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/Model/RandyMcGinley https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/Model/AliciaChandler