An Atlanta-area sheriff’s deputy has been arrested and indicted on a series of major sex crimes that include trafficking in minors and rape.
Derrick Gardner, who was an officer with the police department in DeKalb County, an eastern suburb of Atlanta, has been charged with trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, rape, child molestation, cruelty to children, enticing a child for indecent purposes and aggravated sexual battery, reports the Associated Press.
Gardner was arrested on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, and placed into the same DeKalb Jail where he was served as a jailer. Gardner was almost immediately relieved of duty after nearly four years with the department. He is being held without bond and there is no word on if he has secured legal counsel as of Monday afternoon.
“Gardner’s employment has been terminated,” Sheriff Melody Maddox said in an emailed statement. No other details of the alleged heinous crimes were disclosed.
The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records show that Gardner was a jailer for the balance of his three years and 10 months with the department. In November 2021, he was promoted to deputy until Sunday.
