Life Sentence After Child Rape Conviction for Marietta Man

MARIETTA, GA — A former Marietta man has been convicted of repeatedly raping a child.

On Thursday, a Cobb jury deliberated less than 30 minutes before convicting Michael Angelo Pabon, 50, of rape and child molestation against a girl when she was under 10 years old. The victim testified that Pabon raped her weekly when he lived in Cobb between 2005 and 2008.

The abuse continued after Pabon moved to Cherokee County, and it was there that the victim disclosed the abuse in 2012, when she was 14. When he was interviewed by Cherokee County authorities, Pabon insisted it was a consensual relationship that began after he moved to Cherokee. The age of consent in Georgia is 16 years old.

ADA Hannah Palmquist lauded the victim’s courage in coming forward.

“Her entire childhood was defined by the abuse and the manipulation and the victimization that this defendant subjected her to,” Palmquist said. “After everything she endured, she came forward and took the witness stand at the age of 17, determined that no one else would ever suffer what she had suffered. She will now enter into adulthood defined instead by the courage, strength and selflessness that she has demonstrated.”

Jurors also heard from another woman who testified that Pabon had repeatedly raped her while she was growing up.

Immediately after the verdict, Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Stephen Schuster sentenced Pabon to life in prison.

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