Cobb County Man Gets Multiple Life Sentences for Sexually Assaulting Young Girl

Credit: Sandy Springs Police Department

A Cobb County man will spend the rest of his life in prison following his conviction for sexually assaulting a young girl in Fulton County over a period of several years, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

On Feb. 2, a jury convicted Marietta resident John Dries, 62, of all charges in an 11 count indictment, including criminal attempt to commit rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, child molestation and cruelty to children in the first degree. On Thursday, Dries was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus 80 more years in prison by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Alford Dempsey

In 2007, Dries was asked to babysit and occasionally care for a friend’s 4-year-old girl in Sandy Springs. Dries began a relationship with the girl, starting off with expensive gifts and eventually leading to kissing, fondling, and forced sex acts, the DA’s Office said.

The assaults only ended in 2011, when the victim told a therapist about the abuse she was suffering at the hands of Dries. He was arrested at his Marietta home in November of 2011.