Houston County man sentenced for multiple charges, including child molestation

PERRY — A Houston County man was convicted after a four-day jury trial last week for 26 charges of various crimes against children, according to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.

As announced in a release, Robert Garza Jr., 46, was convicted on June 12 for charges including Aggravated Child Molestation, Aggravated Sodomy, Child Molestation, Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes, and Sexual Exploitation of Children. The jury rendered the verdict after two hours of deliberation.

Garza was sentenced by Judge Katherine Lumsden to 65 years in prison, the first 25 without the possibility of parole, then life on probation.

According to the DA’s office, the charges stemmed from sexual abuse on two nine-year-old victims in 2020. Garza was the victims’ neighbor, and friends with their parents.

Garza would often visit the family and spend the night, where he would commit various sexual acts on the victims, the DA’s office said. A victim told a friend, who then told their parents, who reported the abuse to the Division of Family and Child Services who alerted the Houston County Sheriff’s Office. Neither children disclosed the abuse until a year and a half after it began.

The children were interviewed Rainbow House, a Warner Robins based child advocacy center, where they revealed the abuse. They also revealed Garza had given them phones to share child pornography.

Sheriff’s Office investigators obtained Garza’s phone and a search warrant. Multiple photos and videos were recovered containing child pornography, and text messages showed Garza believed he was in a relationship with one of the victims.

Assistant District Attorneys Justin Duane and Elizabeth McDaniel prosecuted the case. Sgt. Adrienne Hilton, with the help of Lt. Darin Meadows of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Division, investigated. Rainbow House aided in investigation and prosecution.

Duane, and District Attorney Eric Edwards provided comments.

“This is yet another classic example of sexual abuse being perpetrated by those you least expect. The defendant was a well-liked man in his community with many friends who testified as character witnesses on his behalf during the trial. He had no prior felony criminal history and never missed a day of work. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Duane said. “In the dead of the night and in secret, he perpetrated heinous acts against these young girls. Neither girl came forward to their parents or teachers but one of the girls told her best friend. Luckily, that best friend, a brave little girl, had the courage to tell her mom. Had the friend not come forward, I don’t know if the defendant would have ever been held accountable. Thank you to everyone at the Rainbow House for everything they do, and to Sgt. Hilton and Lt. Meadows for their dedication to their work and to the children of Houston County.”

“This predator wormed his way into the lives of a family and inflicted unthinkable harm on two little girls who trusted him. He hid behind a mask of friendship and decency—but that mask has been ripped away, and he will now spend likely the remainder of his life in a prison cell where he belongs,” Edwards said. “I am incredibly proud of Sgt. Hilton, Lt. Meadows, and the team at the Rainbow House for their tireless work. And I am especially proud of the young people who spoke up in this case and set justice in motion. Thanks to their courage and the determination of our Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors, this defendant will never hurt another child again.”