A Bulloch County man charged with five felony sex crimes was sentenced under a negotiated plea last week.
BACKGROUND
74-year-old Charles Thomas Hammons was arrested in July 2024 by the Statesboro Police Department. Detectives charged him with two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation for two acts alleged to have occurred four to six years prior. According to police testimony, Hammons was a neighbor of the male and female victims.
The state opposed bond for Hammons and Judge Michael Muldrew denied the request for release, citing his risk to the community. In October 2024, a grand jury returned a True Bill of Indictment for Hammons on five counts:
- Count 1 – Aggravated Child Molestation – Accused of an act of oral sex on some date being January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021, the exact date not presented to the grand jury.
- Count 2 – Aggravated Child Molestation – Accused of an act of oral sex on some date being January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021, the exact date not presented to the grand jury.
- Count 3 – Aggravated Sexual Battery – Accused of the act on some date being January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021, the exact date not presented to the grand jury.
- Count 4 – Child Molestation – Accused of the act on some date being January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021, the exact date not presented to the grand jury.
- Count 5 – Aggravated Child Molestation – Accused of an act of oral sex on some date being January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2021, the exact date not presented to the grand jury.
Hammons was facing four life sentences plus an additional 20 years.
COURT PROCEEDINGS + PRIOR HISTORY
In December 2024, his attorney at the time filed a Motion to Quash the indictment due to the lacking specificity of the charges, in particular, the time frame. Defense attorney Simon Peed wrote in the motion that the only exception for the state not listing a specific date for the alleged offense is if the “the state can show the evidence does not permit it to allege a specific date.” He also contended that the indictment failed to mention the manner of the commission of the alleged offense, such as whether or not the allegations occurred on the same date or on different dates.
A hearing was held before Judge Muldrew, but no written order was ever entered on the Motion to Quash. Shortly thereafter, Hammons asked Muldrew to reconsider the issue of bond. No order for that Motion was ever filed, but Hammons remained incarcerated at the Bulloch County Jail.
In April 2025, then-ADA Matt Breedon filed a motion to ask the court to determine whether or not previous convictions and accusations could be used as evidence at trial. Specifically, Breedon listed:
PRIOR CONVICTIONS: “The offense of Rape in the Superior Court of Sumter County for which this Defendant plead guilty on September 5, 1989.”
*Note – the Georgia Sex Offender Registry was not created until 1996.
THE DEFENDANT’S MOLESTATION OF OTHER VICTIMS
- The Defendant’s charge of aggravated sexual battery in 2004 in which his ex-step daughter accused him of rape.
- The alleged molestation of an eleven year-old female in 2013.
- The alleged molestation of a four-year-old boy in 2015.
- The sexual relationship with another step-daughter in 2015.
In September 2025, Hammons terminated his representation with his attorney, citing his desire to hire a new attorney, but ultimately moved forward with the public defender. There was no movement on the case for several months until the case was scheduled for jury trial in the second week of June.
PLEA
At his jury selection date on June 2, Hammons entered a negotiated plea, which means the prosecutor and defense attorney agreed to the terms of the plea before it was accepted. Generally, acceptance of a negotiated plea by a judge is merely procedural. Negotiated by Chief Public Defender Renata Newbill-Jallow and Major Crimes ADA Renorda Herring (who replaced Matt Breedon after his departure from the office), the plea was as follows:
- Count 1 – Aggravated Child Molestation: Reduced to Child Molestation – GUILTY PLEA – 20 years with 6 months to serve in jail, the remainder of sentence to be served on probation
- Count 2 – Aggravated Child Molestation: Reduced to Child Molestation – GUILTY PLEA – 20 years probation – concurrent to Count 1
- Count 3 – Aggravated Sexual Battery – Nolle Prosse
- Count 4 – Child Molestation – Nolle Prosse
- Count 5 – Aggravated Child Molestation – Nolle Prosse
In total, Hammons was sentenced to six months in jail followed by 19 years and six months on probation.
While Hammons has been held without bond since his arrest in July of 2024, he will serve six months in jail before he is released. The time served in jail prior to adjudication – from July 11, 2024 through June 2, 2026 (~23 months) – will be credited to his 20 year probation sentence.
As a condition of his sentence, Hammons is banished from the State of Georgia, with the exception of the DeKalb Judicial Circuit & Clayton County. Exceptions apply for travel on I-16 and I-95.
Hammons was also ordered to:
- Pay $50 public defender application fee
- $2,000 in restitution
- Waive his 4th Amendment rights
- Submit a DNA specimen
- Have no contact with the named victim in the case
- Adhere to a curfew
- Abide by Sex Offender conditions, including Sex Offender Registry requirements
- No contact with anyone under the age of 18, including social gatherings and events.
- Residence and employment changes must be approved by probation officer
- No PO box usage without permission from probation officer
- Must maintain a driving log
- Barred from hitchhiking
- Cannot use a computer, cell phone, or electronic device unless it is monitored/approved by probation with approved software.
- Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs
- Avoid possessing firearms and ammunition.
Hammons is now 76-years-old.
