CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Cherokee County man will spend 12 years in prison and then life on probation after he pleaded guilty to molesting an 11-year-old girl.
“This sexual predator took advantage of an innocent little girl, subjecting her to his sick perversions when no one was around to stop him," said Cherokee DA Shannon Wallace.
According to Wallace, 23-year-old Lomack Pridgen entered a guilty plea in June to charges including aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery.
The DA announced Friday his sentencing. His 12 years in prison will not include the possibility of parole.
The victim was known to Pridgen, which Cherokee prosecutor Leyna Pope, who tried the case, said "made the prosecution of this case more difficult for everyone involved."
“This negotiated plea enables the family to have closure, without the victim having to undergo the trauma of a trial," Pope said.
After being released from prison, the DA said Pridgen will be "prohibited from contacting the victim or her family."
The abuse was discovered in Sept. 2021 when the girl told her parents about it.
"It took real courage for her to tell her mother what happened and to stay strong throughout this process,” Wallace said. “This sentence ensures that the defendant serves 12 years in prison, registers as a sex offender, and is closely monitored by law enforcement for the rest of his life.”
