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Published Wednesday, December 16, 2009 in Local

Special

Raymond "Ray" Chapman

Children's home worker faces rape charges

By Alex McRae

The Newnan Times-Herald

An employee of the Georgia Baptist Children's Home in Palmetto was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of raping a child he was in the process of adopting, according to Major James Yarbrough of the Coweta County Sheriff's office.

Raymond "Ray" Chapman, 44, of 391 Hyde Circle, Newnan, was terminated by the children's home after his arrest, according to Yarbrough.

Yarbrough said a homeowner in a new subdivision near Chapman's home had noticed a white Ford SUV entering the subdivision and parking for long periods of time on several occasions in recent months.

The homeowner's wife, children and baby sitter had also noticed the vehicle but did not see any occupants or activity.

"At first they thought it was someone looking at vacant lots in the subdivision," Yarbrough said.

Several weeks ago, the homeowners were leaving their residence and noticed the vehicle parked down the street. As the homeowners passed the Ford SUV, its windows were down and the homeowners noticed an occupant and what they considered suspicious activity inside.

"It just didn't look right and they decided to have things checked out," Yarbrough said.

The homeowners called 911 to report the activity and a Coweta County deputy found the vehicle still parked in the subdivision, with Chapman and a 17-year-old female inside.

Both Chapman and the female were fully dressed and denied any wrongdoing, but the incident caused sheriff's officials to investigate Chapman and the situation more closely.

Investigators learned Chapman and his wife had both worked at the Georgia Baptist Children's Home and decided to adopt one of the children. They had begun the process of adopting the female who was later found in the car with Chapman.

The investigation revealed that prior to and during the adoption process, Chapman had been having a sexual relationship with the female, authorities said. Chapman was arrested and charged with two counts of rape. After the arrest, both Chapman and his wife were terminated by the children's home.

"Our Children's Home family is deeply shocked and saddened by this situation," said Dr. James S. Harper, president and CEO of Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries Inc. "Naturally, we will be cooperating with state and local authorities as they continue with their investigation."

Following his arrest, Chapman was denied bond by Coweta County Chief Magistrate Judge Jim Stripling and is being held in the Coweta County Jail.