Dead Inmate Was Charged With Molesting, Giving Drugs To Runaways

CANTON, GA -- The Cherokee County Adult Detention Center inmate who was pronounced dead after he was found unresponsive in his cell had been indicted on several charges related to harboring three teenagers who ran away in March from the North Georgia Angel House in Canton.

A Cherokee County grand jury in May indicted John Gordon Boatwright on aggravated sexual battery, three counts of child molestation, sexual battery, enticing a child for indecent purposes, three counts of interference with custody and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Deputies at the jail discovered Boatwright in his cell around 2:12 a.m. Nov. 17 "in a seated position with a ligature around his neck," said Cherokee Sheriff's Office Sgt. Marianne Kelley. Deputies and medical staff performed lifesaving efforts before Boatwright was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

According to the indictment, Boatwright harbored three teens who were in state custody after picking them up in his vehicle from the nonprofit residence, which provides a structured home to about 30 at-risk girls age 12 to 21. Warrants show the girls were 17, 15 and 14, respectively, at the time of the incident.

Boatwright camped out March 19-21 with the teens in a makeshift structure in a wooded area in the 4300 block of Hickory Flat Highway near Canton, the warrants state. He is also accused of providing the girls with methamphetamine and committing sex acts against the teens, as outlined in the indictment.

The indictment also charged Boatwright with being a recidivist, as he was sentenced in October 2003 for possession of meth with the intent to distribute. He was also sentenced in May 2006 for felony possession of cocaine.

Jail records do not indicate if a trial date had been set, as prosecutors filed a motion on Wednesday, Nov. 15 to continue the case to the January 2018 trial calendar.

Sgt. Kelley told Patch no other inmates were in Boatwright's cell at the time of the incident, and his body was transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for an autopsy. She also said the GBI, as with all in-custody deaths, are investigating the case.

Photo: John Gordon Boatwright. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office