A 21-year-old man from Spring Creek Road in Trion has been sentenced this week in Chattooga County Superior Court following serious charges of child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Cody Anthony Kirk was arrested in May 2022 after an investigation initiated by the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation began when a concerned parent reported to the sheriff’s office that Kirk had been sending her son inappropriate sexual messages via text. The child’s mother expressed her alarm and outrage, revealing that she had discovered texts in which Kirk allegedly attempted to pay the juvenile for sexual acts. In a chilling account, she stated that some of the messages urged the child to meet him in a “secret place” for sexual activities. According to Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader, investigators worked diligently to compile evidence against Kirk, leading to charges of enticing a child for indecent purposes. When authorities approached Kirk to serve the arrest warrant, he made a startling admission, claiming to have molested another child two years prior. While Sheriff Schrader confirmed that the two incidents were unrelated, Kirk’s confession provided sufficient grounds for additional child molestation charges.

Kirk pleaded guilty on both the charge of enticing a child for indecent purposes and child molestation.  On Monday, Lookout Mountain Superior Court Judge Melissa Hise sentenced Kirk to 20 years in prison on the child molestation charge and 10 years probation on the enticing a child for indecent purposes charge.

Kirk must serve at least 8 years in prison before being eligible for parole.