On August 8, 2024, a Carroll County jury returned verdicts of guilty against John Earl Mack, 43, for two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, Rape, and Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes. Superior Court Judge Dustin Hightower presided over the trial and sentenced the Defendant to life without the possibility of parole plus 30 years to serve. The Defendant was convicted previously of Rape in the Second Degree in 2002 in the state of New York.
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Lara Todd and DA Investigator Becky Byrd prosecuted the case. Detective Chris Bertera of the Villa Rica Police Department led the investigation. The evidence gathered in the investigation revealed the following:
On September 18, 2022, a fifteen-year-old female reported to the Villa Rica Police Department that the Defendant, who previously had a relationship with victim’s mother, sexually assaulted her multiple times between May 1 and May 12, 2022. The crime came to light when the victim’s mother overheard the Defendant make comments of a sexual nature to the victim and request oral sex from her.
When confronted by her mother, the victim initially denied that the Defendant was speaking to her or that anything sexual had happened between them. Ultimately, however, the victim confirmed that the Defendant had been speaking to her. After reporting the crime to the Villa Rica Police Department, the victim was forensically interviewed at the Carroll County Advocacy Center (CCAC) where she disclosed that the Defendant had engaged in multiple sex acts with her. She disclosed that the Defendant committed the crimes at an abandoned home in Villa Rica and at a residence in Fulton County as well. The Defendant also provided the victim drugs to smoke at the Villa Rica location.
This case is another example of multiple participants in the criminal justice system coming together to protect a child and the community from a sexual predator. The District Attorney’s Office appreciates the work of Det. Bertera, the Child Advocacy Center, and everyone who participated in the jury trial that resulted in this Defendant’s conviction and Life without parole sentence. The District Attorney’s Office is committed to seeking substantial prison sentences for sexual offenders who prey on children.
John H. Cranford Jr.
District Attorney
Coweta Judicial Circuit