2 days ago
Sheriffs' Assoc. sues Judge Hatchett after sheriff's guilty plea for groping her
A Channel 2 exclusive in the sexual assault case filed by a prominent television judge against a Georgia sheriff.
Judge Glenda Hatchett is being sued for damages by the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, after the Bleckley County Sheriff pleaded guilty to sexual battery in her case.
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The judge did not rule on the case Wednesday.
Hatchett sued former Sheriff Kris Coody after she says he groped her in 2022 at a Georgia Sheriffs' Association event in a bar at a Cobb County hotel.
'He grabbed my breast,' she told Channel 2's Karyn Greer in a 2023 interview. 'Grabbed my breast, was squeezing on my breast and rubbing my breast.'
Coody pleaded guilty to sexual battery, admitting he groped her breast at the event. The former sheriff resigned, received 12 months probation, 40 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
He was also ordered to take an alcohol and drug abuse course.
Hatchett filed suit against the former sheriff and the Sheriffs' Association for legal fees and damages, asking for a jury trial. But she dropped that suit in May 2024 after it was moved to Morgan County.
In a turn of events, the Sheriffs' Association, which represents sheriffs across the state, has now filed a civil suit against Hatchett. It claimed it was a frivolous lawsuit, demanding she pay the group's legal fees and damages.
Greer reached out to the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and left a message for a comment. She also reached out to the Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor, who is a member of the association.
'The incident was inappropriate and should have never happened … and that's not how sheriffs anywhere should act,' Taylor said. 'It's below the standards of sheriffs. I don't feel her lawsuit was frivolous.'
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