Advocacy History

The Monticello News published a short arrest notice for Richard Louis Rodriguez — listing aggravated sodomy, incest, aggravated child molestation, and probation violation. The newspaper ran the story under the headline "Crime Takes a Holiday," describing the week as "relatively light." No context. No victim age. No mention that Jasper County had forced the child's mother into residential treatment for over a year while her daughter was being raped by her stepfather. Behind the scenes, DFCS had left a child with her rapist. The Sheriff's Office had failed to intervene. And Jasper County had done nothing to move the case forward. Until we intervened.

When we contacted the Sheriff's Office to request the file associated with the case and the related GBI complaint, the sheriff's secretary stated: "There is no file in Jasper County with your name on it." She said it confidently. She said it without hesitation. She said it as if it were fact. But it wasn't. Under Georgia law, failing to produce an existing file is a misdemeanor. Erasing or destroying a file is a felony. Once the Sheriff's Office realized we were documenting everything and contacting state agencies — the file suddenly appeared. And the case moved forward.

After a full jury trial, Richard Louis Rodriguez, age 36, was convicted of Incest and two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation. He was sentenced to Life, with 40 years to serve. This is one of the most serious child-rape convictions in Jasper County history. And it happened only because we forced the county to act. Without our intervention, the file would have remained missing, the case would have remained inactive, the child would have remained unprotected, and the perpetrator would have remained free.

For three years, Michael Lee Barrett — the Jasper County Sheriff's Office evidence custodian — stole drugs directly from the evidence room, consumed them, and traded them with local dealers to support his addiction. Every case he touched during those three years had a compromised chain of custody. Every drug prosecution. Every conviction. Every victim who depended on that evidence.

In March 2017, Barrett hit a deer with his patrol vehicle. Protocol required a drug test. He refused. That refusal triggered suspicion. Investigators found missing evidence bags, empty drug baggies in his desk drawer, altered evidence logs, and a three-year pattern of theft and distribution. The GBI was called in. They found the evidence room compromised. Sheriff Pope contacted the GBI after discovering numerous evidence bags in Barrett's office.

Barrett pled guilty to 94 counts of corruption, including Theft by Taking, Distribution of Controlled Substances, and Violation of Oath of Office. He originally faced 134 counts. He was sentenced to 50 years, 10 to serve, banished from the circuit, and stripped of his POST certification. District Attorney Stephen Bradley called it "one of the most seriously disturbing cases that we've had in the circuit in a long time." Judge Amanda Petty said she was "not sure there was sufficient punishment to fit the crime."

A deputy told us privately that Sheriff Pope informed his staff that as many as 200 cases were compromised. We contacted the Victim Assistance Coordinator in the prosecutor's office to ask for the list of dismissed cases and affected victims. We were never given a real answer. We later checked the public prisoner locator — Barrett was not listed as incarcerated. The public was never told how many cases were dismissed, how many convictions were overturned, how many defendants were released, or how many victims lost their chance at justice.

After years of advocacy for child sex-crime victims in Jasper County, Dennis Horion obtained a copy of his own GBI case file — 26 pages of internal emails, inter-agency communications, and documentation showing how county officials had treated his advocacy work as a threat. The file contained emails between multiple commissioners, attempts to portray Dennis as involved in a hate crime, and a sitting commissioner's request that Sheriff Pope come to the next Board of Commissioners meeting and report how much additional money he needed to prosecute Dennis. The file was, in Dennis's words, 'obviously really ridiculous.' But it was real. And it was damning.

Dennis made three separate Open Records Act requests to the Sheriff's Office asking for any file associated with the GBI complaint. Each time, the sheriff's office claimed no file existed. But the GBI file proved otherwise: the sheriff had records, had sent records to the GBI, and had later claimed those records were destroyed. Under Georgia law, failing to produce an existing file is a civil violation. Destroying a file is a felony. Dennis contacted County Manager Benton directly to request all records written about him and to confirm whether the commissioners had formally referred him for criminal investigation — and whether that referral had been made in secret, without a public vote.

Dennis had previously asked County Clerk Sharon for all records related to him. She told him there was nothing. He had a 26-page GBI file with emails from 10 different county addresses. The contradiction was, in his words, 'disconcerting.' He told Benton: 'I've got a file from the GBI with all kinds of stuff. She said there was nothing.' He asked Benton to obtain a copy of the GBI file so the county would at least know what existed. He wanted to distinguish between officials who actively participated in the referral, officials who were merely copied, and officials who may have acted illegally by making a criminal referral in a closed session rather than a public meeting.

The central question Dennis put to Benton: did the county commissioners formally refer him for criminal investigation — and did they do it behind closed doors? A criminal referral is not a personnel matter. It is not exempt from public disclosure. Under Georgia law, such a referral should have been made in an open public meeting, not in private emails. If the commissioners sat down in a closed session and directed the sheriff to investigate and prosecute a citizen advocate, that action carries personal legal liability for every official who participated. Dennis told Benton he was evaluating civil lawsuits, public exposure, and federal intervention — and that he was already speaking with the FBI.

Dennis entered the Jasper County DFCS office to make an Open Records Act request for records related to child molestation cases, county expenditures for Tiffany Rodriguez's back-to-back rehab stays, and a prior allegation that a child was being raped by her father. He correctly stated that Georgia law allows oral Open Records requests and that DFCS is legally required to accept them. DFCS employee Ms. Norwood insisted he must fill out a DFCS form, speak only with DFCS Director Nicky Corbett, and that DFCS 'cannot give any information.' Dennis explained the law. She still refused. This refusal violates the Georgia Open Records Act.

During the visit, Dennis recounted a prior conversation with Ms. Norwood: a child had reported that her friend was being raped by her father. Dennis relayed this information to DFCS. DFCS told him to call CPS himself. DFCS took no action. Later, the Sheriff's Office confirmed that DFCS had never contacted them about the allegation. The Sheriff's Office told Dennis that DFCS has a 'communication problem on issues like this.' This is a direct violation of Georgia's mandatory reporting laws. A child-rape allegation was reported to DFCS. DFCS did nothing. The Sheriff's Office was never notified.

Tiffany Rodriguez was sent to county-funded rehab on multiple occasions. While she was in rehab, her 13-year-old daughter remained in the home with her husband — a man Dennis had warned Sheriff Pope about in writing. DFCS assigned the same therapist to both Tiffany and her daughter. That therapist was later found to have taken one of Tiffany's pornographic CDs home for personal use and shared hidden-camera pornography with her. Despite this misconduct, DFCS allowed him to continue treating the minor child throughout Tiffany's rehab. No protective measures were taken. After Tiffany's second rehab stay, a new therapist was finally assigned. Only then did her daughter disclose that she had been raped repeatedly for years by her stepfather.

On February 19, 2019, a Jasper County jury convicted Richard Louis Rodriguez of Incest and two counts of Aggravated Child Molestation. On February 28, 2019, he was sentenced to Life in confinement, with the first 40 years to be served. This conviction confirmed the accuracy of every warning Dennis had provided to Sheriff Pope and DFCS years earlier. Sheriff Pope had received a written warning. His response was to go to the home and drug-test the perpetrator. He took no further action. Tiffany was sent to rehab. Her daughter was left alone with the abuser. The abuse continued. The jury confirmed it.

Dennis and his partner Coral visited the FBI's Atlanta Field Office to report Sheriff Donnie Pope's misuse of GBI resources, the false threat narrative created against Dennis, a double-homicide case (Kimberly Cox and David Montgomery) mishandled in Newton County, ongoing retaliation against a child-advocacy program, DFCS failures to report child rape, and open records violations and possible destruction of evidence. They spoke with Special Agent Michael McKinney, who could not focus on either complaint, dismissed the sheriff's misconduct, refused to help with the double-homicide advocacy, and provided no follow-up. This was the first sign that the FBI would not intervene.

Dennis wrote directly to Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley, documenting multiple calls to the FBI, the in-person visit, the refusal of agents to help, the need for federal oversight of two corrupt sheriffs, and the agency's failure to protect victims. The letter included a lawful FOIA request for copies of the phone calls and the interview conducted at the Atlanta office. The FBI did not respond.

Dennis submitted a second FOIA request demanding audio of two phone calls, video of the in-person visit, any internal or external written communications about Dennis, and any records related to the double-homicide advocacy and Sheriff Pope's retaliation. The FBI again refused to provide anything. Instead, they told Dennis he would have to visit the office again if he wanted to discuss the matter — despite the fact that FOIA does not require in-person visits. The FBI produced no audio, no video, and no written documentation of any of the interactions. By 2018, every agency Dennis had approached had failed: DFCS failed to report child rape; Sheriff Pope retaliated and lied to the GBI; county commissioners discussed funding to prosecute him; and the FBI refused to intervene or provide records.