The Brief A Marietta man entered a child molestation plea Monday and was sentenced to 30 years with 20 years in prison. The investigation began after a teenager disclosed abuse that occurred in 2018 while the suspect was babysitting. Three other children within the extended family later came forward with similar allegations against the family friend.



A Marietta man who was known to his victim's family as  Uncle J  was sentenced to prison Monday after pleading guilty to child molestation charges, officials said.

What we know:

Jarrod Donte Luster, 39, of Marietta, pled guilty Monday to two counts of child molestation, according to an announcement by the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office.

Senior Judge Ronnie K. Batchelor sentenced Luster to 30 years, ordering him to serve the first 20 years in prison and the remainder on probation. Luster's case was originally scheduled to go before a jury trial before he entered the guilty plea.

The probation period carries strict sex offender special conditions, including formal sex offender registration and a complete ban on contact with anyone under the age of 18. The court also ordered Luster to have no contact of any kind with all four of the victims and their families.

The backstory:

The Cherokee Sheriff's Office began investigating Luster on Nov. 27, 2023, after a 14-year-old disclosed abuse that occurred when he was 8 years old. The victim revealed that Luster touched his inner thigh and grabbed his groin in 2018 while babysitting while the child's mother was hospitalized. Luster was a close family friend who had frequent access to the child.

During the investigation, three additional children from the extended family disclosed similar acts involving Luster. Those separate incidents occurred outside of Cherokee County.

The case was investigated by the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Bartow County Sheriff's Office, Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, and Gordon County Sheriff's Office.

What they're saying:

 This defendant insidiously embedded himself within an extended family to gain access to their chi

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