Peach County jury convicts man in child sexual abuse case

Prosecutors say the abuse happened over several years while the defendant lived with the victim and her family.

PEACH COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — A Peach County jury has convicted a man of sexually abusing his former girlfriend’s daughter over a three-year period, according to a news release from the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Anita Howard said 39-year-old Clinton Wayne Yarbrough was found guilty Monday of child molestation and aggravated child molestation after prosecutors presented evidence of abuse that began when the victim was 11 years old and escalated to sexual intercourse by the time she was 14.

According to the district attorney’s office, the abuse happened between August 2016 and December 2019 while Yarbrough lived with the victim, her siblings and her mother. Prosecutors said Yarbrough initially abused the child under the guise of play fighting before forcing her to engage in sexual acts.

The release says that after Yarbrough’s relationship with the victim’s mother ended, he continued contacting the victim through Snapchat. When the victim was 17, prosecutors said Yarbrough sent messages apologizing and claiming he was “actually in love with” the victim. The district attorney’s office said the victim preserved those messages and other evidence, including a hair tie containing Yarbrough’s semen, and turned them over to the Byron Police Department.

“This brave young woman carried the weight of this abuse for years, and her courage in coming forward has ensured that her abuser will face the consequences of his heinous actions,” Howard said.

According to the district attorney’s office, Yarbrough faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, February 18, at 1 p.m.