CANTON - Authorities investigating the death of a Cherokee County teenager have charged a friend of hers with statutory rape and child molestation. <br>
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Jamerson Douglas Mangrum, 17, of Acworth also was charged Thursday with cruelty to children, making a false statement and possession of marijuana. <br>
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Mangrum was not charged with homicide but is a ``prime suspect'' in the slaying of 15-year-old Katie Hamlin, Sheriff Roger Garrison told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. <br>
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Though Mangrum previously attended Cherokee County schools, school district spokesman Mike McGowan said the teen was not registered for the 2002-2003 school year. <br>
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Investigators still do not know what killed Katie, whose partially burned body was discovered July 2. They are awaiting detailed toxicology reports from the state, Garrison said. <br>
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He would not characterize the two teenagers as boyfriend and girlfriend, but said they knew each other. <br>
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``We're not saying she didn't give consent,'' Garrison said. At 15, Katie was not old enough to give legal consent in Georgia, he said. <br>
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The sheriff's department also arrested John Garris Becklund, 19, but authorities said he is not a suspect in Katie's death. He came in for an interview as a witness and while he was being interviewed, authorities learned he was wanted on an unrelated violation of probation charge. <br>
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News of the arrests stunned Katie's father, Joe Hamlin. <br>
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``That was shocking because Katie has talked about these individuals in the past,'' Hamlin told WSB-TV on Thursday. ``I knew it had to be someone Katie trusted.'' <br>
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Garrison said he does not think the girl's death is connected to another case in Clayton County. Authorities found the burned remains of a woman on June 23. Garrison said he believes ``the burning was to throw us off and lead us in another direction."
