CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Canton man was recently found guilty on multiple charges after attempting to meet up with a child for sex, according to the Cherokee County district attorney.
Twenty-eight year old Jerome Walker III was sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty of "attempting to commit child molestation and attempting to pander a person under the age of 18."
According to District Attorney Shannon Wallace, the charges stemmed from an undercover operation that was conducted by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office back in 2019.
During that time, the DA said Walker used an internet escort site to meet and communicate with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. However, the person he was communicating with was actually an undercover law enforcement officer with the Internet Crimes Against Children unit.
Walker asked if he could set up a "play date" during his initial communication, according to the DA. He also asked if the fictional girl wanted to engage in sexual acts and said he'd offer to pay for her services.
After texting back and forth, he agreed to meet at a location in Woodstock, where he was eventually arrested by deputies upon arrival.
“Mr. Walker made it abundantly clear that he wanted to engage in sex acts with a child. His motive was nothing short of disgusting,” Assistant District Attorney Meaghan Frankish said. “While the child in this case was fictitious, it’s important to keep in mind that undercover investigations replicate real-life situations with the goal to identify, arrest, and prosecute individuals before they are able to harm an actual child.”
Walker was later sentenced in July to 10 years with five to be served in prison and the remainder to be served on probation, according to the DA. The sentence also requires him to participate in psycho-sexual evaluation and treatment, adhere to sex offender conditions, avoid alcohol or drugs, and not possess any firearms.
