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Published Wednesday, October 21, 2009 in Local
Former candidate's molesting conviction upheld
The Times-Herald
The Georgia Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction and sentencing of former school teacher and state legislative candidate Craig Steven Bowen on four counts of child molestation.
The court denied Bowen's motion for a new trial after he claimed the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict and that the court erred in admitting evidence of "prior difficulties."
Bowen was convicted in October 2008 of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a female relative who was under 16. He was sentenced to 20 years with 15 to serve in prison -- the balance of which he'll serve on probation.
Bowen, of Senoia, is a former Fayette County teacher. He resigned as a teacher at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayetteville following his arrest in April 2008. In 2003, he ran for a Georgia House District post in the Republican Primary. He was a foster parent until his arrest.
Coweta Judicial Circuit Senior Assistant District Attorney Ray Mayer of the Newnan office argued at trial that Bowen sexually fondled the juvenile relative in Coweta County on several occasions, beginning when the victim was around 5 or 6 years old and ending when she was 9 or 10.
"I never intended to do anything wrong," Bowen told Coweta Superior Court Judge Jack Kirby just prior to his sentencing. "I take full responsibility for what I did. I'm an adult and she's a child."
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