NOVEMBER 26, 2019–7:56 a.m.
GORDON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
On November 18, the Sheriff’s Office received a tip from a concerned citizen that a local man was in possession of child pornography.
Sheriff’s detectives immediately initiated an investigation and subsequently located the suspected offender, identified as Charlie William WrightJr., age 49, of 334 Beamer Circle, Calhoun.
Wright was arrested at his home that same day and charged with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor Child.
Continuing their investigation, the detectives discovered evidence that the defendant had in fact manufactured (“home-made”) other child pornography involving a 2-year-old victim.
Detectives executed five search warrants on electronic devices in the process of gathering (video) evidence.
The evidence also led the investigating officers to Wright’s female companion, Ruth Ann Grace Newport, age 39, of the same address.
She was already in custody in the county jail on unrelated drug charges but was identified in video recordings.
Wright has been charged with 2 counts of Possession of Child Pornography, 2 counts of Child Molestation, 1 count of Aggravated Sodomy, and a total of 5 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Minor Children.
Newport has been charged with 2 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Minor Children, 1 count of Child Molestation, 1 count of Aggravated Child Molestation, and 2 counts of Aggravated Sodomy.
Both defendants remain in custody awaiting judicial proceedings.
According to Whitfield County Superior Court records, in a negotiated plea agreement, Wright was convicted of 1 count of Sexual Battery (in Whitfield County) in 2005 and received a sentence of 5 years.