8 Girls Molested Including Family, Man Gets 9 Life Sentences

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – A Lawrenceville man was sentenced Wednesday to nine consecutive life sentences, plus a consecutive 324 years in prison, after eight young women said he inappropriately touched or penetrated them when they were ages ranging from 7 to 17 years old.

Terry Askew, 56, was convicted of rape, incest, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy and 14 counts of child molestation.

On July 15, 2016, police were called to 952 Tanners Point Dr. in Lawrenceville where a female relative of Askew reported that he had repeatedly molested her since she was seven years old. The girl kept this secret for years until she learned that Askew had also sexually abused her best friend. She confronted Askew, who begged her to calm down and not call the police.

(For more news like this, sign up for Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Lawrenceville — or other neighborhoods. Access Patch on the go with our iPhone app or our brand new app for Android phone users.)

Further investigation revealed more children molested by Askew to include relatives, two neighbors and another family friend. At trial, a total of eight young women testified that Askew had inappropriately touched or penetrated them when they were at ages ranging from 7 to 17 years old.

Text messages, diary entries, and disturbing videos on Askew’s phone helped to corroborate the victims’ accounts.

Although the defense suggested that the victims conspired to make false accusations, many of the victims barely knew each other and some lost a close family relationship as a direct result of revealing the abuse.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department