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News from Solicitor-General Sherry Boston
2015 Volume IV
In This Issue
Striving for a Safer DeKalb    
 
As another successful year comes to a close, I want to thank each of you for your support as we work to make DeKalb a safer place and improve our quality of life. We were pleased to see such a great turnout at our fifth annual resource fair and symposium on domestic violence during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we want to thank everyone who contributed to our annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We have also been proud to support events throughout our community including the 24th annual Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence Candlelight Vigil,  the Pain to Purpose Domestic Violence Awareness Rally, the Partnership Against Domestic Violence Spreading Our Wings Vigil, a fundraiser for Day League Sexual Assault and Prevention, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys' Saving Our Mothers and Sisters Program, the International Women's House Night for New Beginnings, the Moms on a Mission Reading Program and the NAACP Diamond Anniversary. As the 2014 recipient of the Deborah McDorman Flame Award from the DeKalb Domestic Violence Task Force, I was honored to present the award to this year's winners. Jennifer Waindle of DeKalb County State Court Probation and Sulaiman Nurridin with Men Stopping Violence have made significant contributions toward ending domestic violence in our community. We look forward to seeing you in the coming months as we have more events planned including efforts to help stop teen dating violence and elder abuse. Please visit our pages or website at the links below for more information on how you can participate.
WRC Candlelight Vigil to End Domestic Violence
Supporting the National Council of Negro Women  
   
Presenting 2015 Deborah McDorman Awards  
   

 As always, please don't hesitate to call me

at (404) 371-2201 or email at  

 

 

Sincerely yours,

   

Helping Homeless Youth

Solicitor-General Sherry Boston and Deputy Chief of Community Outreach/SVU Sonja Brown braved the cold and rain to spend a night on the streets to fight homelessness of children. The Sleep Out event in November helped support Covenant House's life-saving programs for homeless youth. More than 90 business leaders participated in Atlanta, raising more than $320,000. They were joined by executives across the country, raising more than $6,500,000 for homeless kids. 
 
Stopping Violence in the Home

A very special guest helped demonstrate that domestic violence can happen to anyone during our 5th Annual Resource Fair and Symposium on Building Bridges, Making Connections: Coordinating a Community Response to Domestic Violence. April Ross, a prosecuting attorney with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, never imagined domestic violence would happen to her. She described how her husband shot her three times last year, paralyzing her from the chest down. We are thankful April shared her inspirational story of survival. Additional speakers and resource fair participants were there to help us stop future cases of domestic violence. Members of our Special Victims Unit are always available to help survivors understand the legal process and get the help they need. We are grateful for our sponsors who helped make the symposium possible, Hedgepeth, Heredia & Rieder Family Law and Smith & Lake Family Law, LLC. And we were proud to once again collect used cell phones to benefit survivors through Verizon's HopeLine program. 

Watch video here: DCTV Broadcast.
If you missed the symposium, you can watch a tape of the live broadcast on DeKalb Cable Channel 23. Thanks to DCTV for helping us spread the word about ways to stop domestic violence. If you are or someone you know is experiencing abuse in a relationship, call 911 if there is immediate danger.  If there is not immediate danger, please call the toll-free 24-hour Georgia Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-33-HAVEN (4-2836) voice/TTY in Georgia. Click here for more resources.

Investigation Uncovers Child Molestation by Former Teacher

An investigation by the Office of DeKalb County Solicitor-General Sherry Boston led to the felony child molestation arrest of a former teacher in November. Investigators determined that earlier this year, 25-year-old Quentin Martavious Wright of Decatur sent a series of pornographic messages and photographs to a student under the age of 16 using the Kik chat app. Under Georgia law, child molestation can be the use of an electronic device to transmit images of a person engaging in, inducing or otherwise participating in any act to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the defendant, even if no physical act took place between the accused and the victim. 
Judge Purdom set bond at $5000 along with conditions that Wright would stay away from the victim, anyone under the age of 18 and DeKalb County Schools. Investigators uncovered the child molestation by piecing together cell phone messages and interviewing students. Wright was already out on bond for four misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allegedly allowing students to have sex in a classroom closet at Champion Theme Middle School in Stone Mountain. Those counts involved different students than the victim in the child molestation case.  
Ending Abuse in Later Life

  The Office of Solicitor-General Sherry Boston is involved in a new effort to improve victim safety and services for DeKalb seniors. A federal grant is providing specialized training for 850 law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors and victim service providers through the DeKalb's Ending Abuse in Later Life project.  The Solicitor-General's Office prosecutes about 55 cases of elder abuse each year, but we feel sure many more cases are not reported. The new training should help investigators identify more victims, while helping survivors navigate the legal system and find safe housing. The kickoff of the new program was held in October at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia.
Honored for Service in Our Community

Solicitor-General Sherry Boston was honored in November for her service in our community. The Howey Hudson Lowe Foundation awarded Ms. Boston its 2015 Trailblazer Award. The presentation took place at the nonprofit's 11th annual Stompin at the Savoy event at the Ramada Plaza Capitol Hotel in Atlanta. The event which is open to the public is a fundraiser to support homeless families and children.