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Published Friday, January 23, 2009 in Local

Ex-lawman Graham sentenced to 30 years

By Elizabeth Melville

The Newnan Times-Herald

Former police officer Gregory Allen Graham, 34, pleaded guilty in Coweta Superior Court Friday morning to charges that include incest, child molestation, possession of narcotics and criminal attempt to suborn perjury.

He admittedly had an ongoing sexual relationship with a female relative that began in November 2007 when the victim was 14 years old.

Judge Jack Kirby accepted Assistant District Attorney Kevin McMurry's plea recommendation and sentenced Graham to 30 years with 18 years to serve in prison confinement on the charge of incest. The balance of that sentence will be spent on probation. Upon release, Graham must register as a sex offender.

Kirby sentenced Graham to prison time on each of the criminal charges in the 15-count indictment, all to run concurrently.

As Graham was ushered -- shackled -- into court, the victim burst into tears. Graham never showed emotion or looked around the room. An elevated police presence was on hand for the plea hearing.

Noticeably absent from the proceedings were Graham's mother and father. Graham's father, Charles, a retired captain from the Fulton County Police Department, was arrested on July 10, 2008, and charged with criminal attempt to suborn perjury and false swearing after he helped his son get in touch with the victim. The two have been present at all of Graham's court proceedings, even when Graham wasn't.

Graham did not deny the facts in the case as presented by McMurry in court Friday. He listened to McMurry recount those facts while standing beside his lawyer, Atlanta attorney Bruce Harvey.

According to McMurry, Graham began having sexual intercourse with the victim three to four times per week in November 2007. On April 4, investigators with the Coweta County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at Graham's Sharpsburg home and found items that included more than 500 steroids, sex toys and used prophylactics. He was taken into police custody at that time.

The abuse was reported by the victim's mother after she confronted her daughter with her suspicions of the inappropriate relationship. The victim admitted what had happened to her mother and to police.

After Graham's arrest, he asked a friend to lie to police to give him an alibi, according to McMurry. Graham also absconded to Florida while out of jail on bond in November. Graham was located over the Thanksgiving holiday because of the efforts of Coweta Sheriff's investigators Jason Fetner and Matt Kee. Graham was extradited back to Coweta County on Dec. 2.

The victim's mother told the court Friday morning, "Our lives will never be the same after this past year."

"I have witnessed what I would not wish on my worst enemy," she continued. "I watch [the victim] carry guilt for Greg every day of her life." But, she added, "we will survive."

The victim shared her emotional testimony and discussed the difficult journey of healing that lies ahead.

"I've lost everything I once had," the victim said.

"I'm not doing this to prosecute him," she said, adding that she's telling the truth because it's the right thing to do. But the victim told the court that she wonders how she's going to survive each day.

"I'm going through the exact same thing [as Graham]," said the victim, adding that the only difference is that she won't be criminally prosecuted. The victim said she got "caught up in what he called love." For a while, she "defended him," but later realized that he "wasn't returning the favor." At one point, Graham asked her to tell the court that she was insane, according to the victim.

She concluded by saying that she ultimately seeks to forgive Graham, not hate him.

Graham declined to make a comment when given the opportunity to address the court.