An Athens man is awaiting sentencing after a jury on Wednesday found him guilty of child molestation and statutory rape in Hall County after a three-day trial.
Anthony Bernard Powers, 31, was taken into custody in July 2016 in Cuthbert, where he was found with a teenager who had been reported missing in the Gainesville area, Hall County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Ware said at the time.
Powers, then 29, was charged with interfering with child custody.
As the case developed, more serious charges were brought against him, leading to his conviction on charges of child molestation and statutory rape, both of which occurred in 2015 and 2016, according to Lee Darragh, Hall County District Attorney.
At the time, the victim was 14 and 15 years old.
A sentencing hearing will likely happen within the next two weeks. Darragh declined to give an estimate of the type or length of sentence this sort of crime generally carries.
"Because the case is not yet closed ... I don't feel that I should speculate on what the court may do in this case until sentencing is complete," said Darragh.
Judge C. Andrew Fuller presided over the case.
