Douglas County Man Convicted Of Rape, Human Trafficking: D.A.

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — A Douglas County jury has found 35-year-old Carlos Betancourt guilty of human trafficking, statutory rape and child molestation in a week-long trial, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Betancourt is facing a maximum prison sentence of two life sentences plus 20 years, according to the district attorney's office, noting he will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the district attorney's office, Betancourt had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl whom he met on Nov. 4, 2020, after she ran away from her mom's Cobb County home. The two met at a theme park, where he offered her a ride and took her to his Douglas County home.

Betancourt kept the girl at his house for almost three months, the district attorney's office said.

He was accused of sending text messages to another man, offering to let the man have sex with the girl in exchange for drugs, the district attorney's office said.

In January 2021, the girl contacted her mother after being able to leave Betancourt's house and was reunited with her family, the district attorney's office said.

The girl described Betancourt to law enforcement by giving them his first name, describing the tattoo on his face and by telling them he was on probation, according to the district attorney's office.

Betancourt was arrested by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in February 2021, according to the district attorney's office.

“The idea of grown men preying on our children and manipulating and abusing them for their own gain and satisfaction is intolerable. No community is immune from sex trafficking," Douglas County District Attorney Dalia Racine said in the news release.

"As a focus of my prosecution career, I am especially proud of our team and law enforcement partners for their work in recognizing and attacking this issue. We will continue to aggressively go after those that cause our children and our community harm. I can only hope that this conviction, along with community resources, can help the victim continue to heal from this unimaginable abuse.”