Warner Robins man stalks victim from inside probation center, sentenced to 10 years in prison

WARNER ROBINS — Willie Maurice Godwin, 55, pled guilty to aggravated stalking on Wednesday, July 15. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed by law, according to the District Attorney’s office. 

The sentence required that a permanent restraining order be entered, which prevents Godwin from contacting the victim indefinitely. 

According to a media release from the DA’s office, the case involved many instances of aggravated stalking over a one-month period earlier this year. Godwin and the victim were previously in a romantic relationship. 

During their relationship, Godwin had been violent toward the victim, requiring law enforcement to intervene. The media release states that in the last instance of law enforcement involvement prior to the current charges, Godwin was convicted of a separate aggravated stalking charge against the same victim in January of this year. He was sentenced to serve time in the probation detention center. 

He transferred to the Emanuel Probation Detention Center in Twin City, Georgia. In Emanuel, Godwin almost immediately started violating the terms of his sentence, specifically orders to have no contact with the victim. 

The victim, also a Houston County resident, reported the unwanted and threatening communications to Godwin’s probation officer. Meanwhile, personnel at Emanuel PDC also noticed the defendant was contacting the victim from their facility. 

Godwin was removed from the PDC and returned to the Houston County Detention Center. This is where the instant aggravated stalking warrants were served upon him, leading to the guilty plea and new sentence, the media release says. 

Godwin was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Mike Smith of the Houston Circuit District Attorney’s office. 

In the release, he thanked the DA’s office and officers with the Department of Community Supervision and Department of Corrections for bringing a domestic abuser to justice.

“All members of our community should be safe from domestic abuse. While these narcissistic abusers think they are above the law and will avoid facing the consequences of their cycles of violence, the District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to standing up for the most vulnerable in our community, even in instances where those individuals may not be comfortable standing up for themselves,” Smith said. 

District Attorney Eric Edwards said abusers refuse to accept that they no longer control the victim and continue their campaign of intimidation through repeated contact, threats and violations of court orders. 

“Rather than using that opportunity to change his behavior, he demonstrated complete disregard for the law, the Court’s authority, and the safety and peace of mind of the victim,” Edwards said.

Edwards added that a protective order is not a suggestion but court ordered. He said when an offender repeatedly ignores those orders and continues to terrorize a victim, the DA’s office will seek the strongest punishment the law allows.