State vs. Justin Kenard King

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a DeKalb County man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting two young girls in his care. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on April 18 against 33-year-old Justin Kenard King on charges of Rape, two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, three counts of Child Molestation, and three counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree. At the time the abuse was discovered, the young victims were just 8 and 9 years old.

The charges against King stem from an outcry by one of the victims to her grandmother regarding abuse that she and a relative had endured for nearly a year between 2018 and 2019. According to the investigation, Defendant King molested the children and forced them to perform sex acts on multiple occasions at homes in Stone Mountain and Decatur. Both girls had witnessed the other being sexually assaulted. DeKalb County Police were called to investigate after the victim disclosed the abuse. Defendant King denied assaulting the girls.

Following his conviction, DeKalb Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson sentenced Defendant King to a life term, plus 21 years in prison, followed by four years on probation.

The case, assigned to the District Attorney’s Sexual Exploitation and Crimes Against Children (SECAC) Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney John Caldwell, with assistance from Senior ADA Ryan Patrick, DA Investigator Kendall Ham and Victim Advocate Nzinga Hurey. Detective Katrina Evans of the DeKalb County Police Department, who is now retired, led the initial investigation.