Former Cobb GOP Chairman Arrested on Child Molestation Charges

MARIETTA, GA -- Joe Dendy, who led Cobb County's GOP from 2011 to 2015, was arrested on Friday on two child molestation felony charges.

As of late Friday afternoon, Dendy, 71, was being held without bond at the Cobb County jail. He was arrested Friday morning at his home in West Cobb County.

Attorney William McKenney, who is representing Dendy, told the Marietta Daily Journal that “Mr. Dendy will plead not guilty to all charges and will commence his own independent investigation into the motivation and credibility of individuals now claiming acts which allegedly occurred over nine years ago and which were never reported to anyone.”

• Sign up for the Marietta Patch newsletter!

According to the AJC, the charges stem from two incident dating as far back as 2007. That charge alleges Dendy performed sexual acts on a 12-year-old boy in Dendy's home. The other charge surrounds an incident at Dendy's home over Christmas 2011, where he allegedly inappropriately touched a 4-year-old boy sitting on his lap. A witness, now 20, reportedly has corroborated the boy's claims.

Dendy served two terms as head of the Cobb Republican Party.

Image: Cobb Sheriff's Office