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The District Attorney announces the conviction of John Percival Nelson following a guilty verdict in Carroll County Superior Court on Thursday, November 17th. The jury convicted the defendant of Aggravated Sodomy, Attempted Rape, Aggravated Sexual Battery, Kidnapping with Bodily Injury, False Imprisonment, and Battery. This conviction arises from his brutal attack on the sister of his former girlfriend earlier this year.
On the evening of January 11, Nelson and the victim were walking in the vicinity of Longview Park in Carrollton when the defendant suddenly grabbed the young woman and carried her to a secluded area. He held his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming as he threw her to the muddy ground. He pulled her pants down and repeatedly attempted to rape her before finally sodomizing and sexually battering her. After the attack, while the defendant was still holding onto the victim, she saw an open window of a home and screamed for help. The defendant then slammed her on a concrete walkway and fled. The Carrollton Police Department was called and responded immediately.
At the Tanner Medical Center emergency room, medical personnel noted that the visibly distraught victim was scratched, scrapped, and muddy. She identified her assailant to officers of the Carrollton Police Department, who were able to locate the assailant at his house. A search warrant obtained by Detective Blake Hitchcock linked the victim’s DNA to the DNA swabbed from Nelson’s sex organ. A search of his room uncovered muddy and soiled clothes described by the victim. In the trash can outside his residence, the defendant’s muddy shoes were found, which matched shoeprints found at the scene of the attack. At trial, the victim, again becoming emotional, identified her attacker as the man she once thought of as a friend. The defendant, represented by attorney John Howe, exercised his right not to testify at his trial.
Superior Court John Simpson set sentencing for the 2nd of December 2011. A pre-sentence investigation will be performed by the local Adult Probation Office of the Georgia Department of Corrections. Kidnapping, Aggravated Sodomy, and Aggravated Sexual Battery all carry maximum sentences of life in prison. The maximum sentences for Attempted Rape and False Imprisonment are 30 years and 10 years respectively. Battery is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum punishment of 12 months.
District Attorney Pete Skandalakis wishes to thank the jurors for their hard work on this difficult case. “Our laws enshrine the faith we have in regular citizens to directly participate in the administration of justice and this jury’s verdict reaffirms that faith. These good citizens have made it perfectly clear that Carroll County will not tolerate the behavior of violent and dangerous criminals like this defendant.
I wish to commend Detective Blake Hitchcock and the Carrollton Police Department for their superb professionalism in building a rock solid case against this defendant. I finally wish recognize Senior Assistant District Attorney Anne Allen, who has once again distinguished herself as Carroll County’s top prosecutor against violent sexual predators. This is the second conviction in as many months she has secured on a dangerous sexual felon. I am reminded every term of court how lucky I’ve been to have Ms. Allen work for me these past 20 years. The citizens of Carroll County, the Coweta Judicial Circuit, and the State of Georgia have been well served by this veteran prosecutor.”