News from Solicitor-General Sherry Boston
2014 Volume II
In This Issue
Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Award
Promoting Perfect Attendance
"One Man Crime Wave" Banned
Working to End Elder Abuse
Man Guilty of Public Indecency

Creating a Safer DeKalb      

 

We are proud of our work to make DeKalb safer in recent months, including our efforts to promote education and spread awareness about elder abuse which affects far too many of our seniors. We are pleased at our victories in the courtroom including one sentence which banned a repeat offender from ever returning to DeKalb County and another guilty verdict which involved a case of public indecency in the vicinity of a child. In July, I was honored to serve on panels at both the National Bar Association Conference and the National Black Prosecutors Association Conference. In April, I was honored to deliver the Law Day sermon at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. We have also had the opportunity to participate in events including National Night Out, the Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program, the Summer Mentoring Initiative in Legal Education, DeKalb Police Department's Beat the Badge 5K, the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence Champions for Change Luncheon, the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Inaugural Gala, Coffee with a Cop, Multi-Family Industry Day and the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force Balloon Ceremony to remember homicide victims. 

To find out more about our community outreach efforts, please visit my blog on our website.
Domestic Violence Task Force Balloon Ceremony

National Night Out 

Summer Mentoring Initiative in Legal Education

 

 

  

 

 

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Sincerely yours,

   

Hispanic Community Outreach

 
In April, we held our first outreach event with the Hispanic community to improve communications with Latino leaders. We discussed ways to build partnerships, improve our services and encourage crime victims to seek help. We are pleased to be working together in our efforts to stop domestic violence and other crimes. We also want to announce that a 24-hotline is now available to Spanish-speaking victims of domestic violence. Learn more about the hotline here: Spanish Domestic Violence Hotline. 
Georgia Legal Food Frenzy Award


For a second year in a row, the Solicitor-General's Office received statewide recognition for collecting more food for the hungry than any other legal organization in the state. In both the 2014 and 2013 Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, our office won the award for the most in total pounds collected in the Legal Organization Category.
From April 21st through May 2nd this year, the Solicitor-General's Office collected the equivalent more than 52,000 pounds of food. We were honored to also receive recognition from the Atlanta Community Food Bank for our donations. We are proud to help the nearly one in five Georgians who struggles with hunger, including the nearly one in four children who needs assistance. 

 

Read more here: Crossroads News. 
Thank you so much for your support as we work to fight crime and make DeKalb a better place to live. It was great to see many of you at our elder abuse awareness and back-to-school events. We hope you will save the date for our 4th Annual Domestic Violence Symposium on October 23rd. As always, please contact us if you have a safety concern in your neighborhood or more ideas for ways we can improve our quality of life.
Promoting Perfect Attendance
  
As students headed back to the classroom, we reminded them and their parents about the importance of being in school everyday. At the Back-to-School Expo at Stonecrest Mall in Lithonia in July, Solicitor-General Sherry Boston led students and parents in our "Pledge for Perfect Attendance." We also gave out bags, school supplies and information for parents. In August, more kids took our pledge and received school supplies at Community Day with the Sheriff at Suburban Lanes in Decatur.

 

The Solicitor-General's Office prosecutes cases of educational neglect when students are chronically absent from school, but prosecution is a last resort. Our goal is to make sure every child gets a good education. First, we give parents a chance to complete a diversion program called the Attendance Review Team, and we work with families to find out if barriers such as homelessness, illness or bullying are causing absences.  

 

Since 90 percent of the inmates in the DeKalb County Jail are high school drop outs, we know that keeping children in school is one of the best ways to prevent crime and ensure they have a brighter future. Did you know that the average high school graduate makes $630,000 more income over his or her lifetime, compared to a drop out? We hope you will share that fact with your teens, if they are considering dropping out.

 

Please read Solicitor-General Sherry Boston's article about the importance of education here: Crossroads News.

 

"One Man Crime Wave" Banned

We are pleased to announce that a repeat offender is no longer allowed in DeKalb County. Thanks to Deputy Chief Assistant Solicitor-General Sonja Brown, Community Prosecutor Hannah Chung, witnesses in our Court Watch program and DeKalb County Police, defendant Charles Butts is banned from the county.

In a case presided over by Judge Stacey Hydrick in June, Butts accepted a one-way bus ticket to Tennessee as part of a plea agreement. Now if he returns to DeKalb County, police can arrest Butts immediately. Business owners say they are relieved because crime had dropped more than 50 percent near Moreland Avenue each time Butts was arrested and serving time. Witnesses in our Court Watch program testified in court about how these repeat offenses were affecting our community.

Watch video here: WSB-TV.

Working to End Elder Abuse

In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, we promoted awareness at senior centers throughout DeKalb County. Throughout the month of June, we held our annual Safety in Numbers Bingo events at the Atlanta-DeKalb Senior Center, the Lou Walker Senior Center, the combined Scottsdale and South DeKalb Senior Centers and the Toco Hills Senior Center. After the seniors played bingo, Solicitor-General Sherry Boston discussed the warning signs of elder abuse and how to get help. Members of our Special Victims Unit were there to meet with seniors one-on-one and were able to identify cases we are now investigating.

Sadly, more than 500,000 Americans report elder abuse every year, and many more cases are not reported. Family members are the perpetrators in 90 percent of cases, and we know that a victim of elder abuse has a 300 percent higher risk of death. Please help us spread the word about elder abuse and watch out for the seniors in our community. Even if you are not sure abuse is taking place, we encourage you to report any suspected case to police or our office. 

 

Read more here: The Champion Newspaper.
Man Guilty of Public Indecency and Father Found in Contempt of Court

A DeKalb County jury found an 18-year-old man guilty of public indecency, while the judge found the man's father in contempt of court during his son's trial.

18-year-old Earl "Earnell" Marvin Moton II of Lithonia was found guilty in April of two counts of public indecency after he exposed himself in the teen section of Stonecrest Library in Lithonia. He was standing a foot and a half behind a 10-year-old girl, and his actions were caught on surveillance video. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 12 months of probation, 120 hours community service, a psycho-sexual evaluation and a prison awareness program. He was also barred from any DeKalb County library during his probation.

The man's father, 48-year-old Earl "Earnell" Marvin Moton Sr. of Lithonia was sentenced to one day in jail and a $500 fine after Judge Dax Lopez found in him contempt of court. Moton made intimidating and threatening remarks to witnesses during the trial.

Watch video here: WSB-TV.