The Effingham County Commissioner who was arrested on child molestation charges in May of 2023 has been indicted by a grand jury.
84-year-old Reginald Sanford Loper was indicted by the grand jury on Monday, roughly ten months after he was first arrested for Child Molestation and Sexual Battery.
The case was presented by District Attorney Pro Tem Jared T. Williams, as the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office recused itself from the case last year to avoid the optics of a conflict of interest.
After a presentation by Williams and testimony from GBI Agent Justin Jones, the grand jury on Monday returned a True Bill of Indictment on two charges: Sexual Battery Against a Child Under 16 and Sexual Battery.
Most notably from the indictment is that it contains the names of two alleged victims, one of whom is a minor, whereas the warrants from 2023 only named one alleged minor victim.
The indictment, obtained by TheGeorgiaVirtue.com, alleges that Loper ‘did intentionally make physical contact with the intimate parts of the body of another person (alleged victim’s name), a child under the age of 16 years, without the consent of the child, by placing the hands of said accused on the breast and buttock of (alleged victim’s name). The incident is alleged to have occurred between August 1, 2017 and August 1, 2020.
On the second count, the allegation is that Loper made contact with the intimate parts of (alleged victim #2) without the consent of that person, by placing the hands of said accused on the buttock of (alleged victim #2). This incident is alleged to have occurred between September 12, 2014 and September 11, 2015.
There is no statute of limitations on these charges.
- Sexual Battery Against a Child Under 16 – This is a felony offense that carries a sentence of one to five years in prison.
- Sexual Battery – This is a misdemeanor offense of a high and aggravated nature
Loper has served as commissioner for District 4 in Effingham County, which covers the City of Springfield and parts of the City of Rincon, since 2004. He did not qualify for re-election.
Following his arrest, the Effingham County Board of Commissioners issued a statement offering their prayers to Loper.
