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Kris Coody, a Georgia sheriff pleaded guilty to g*oping TV Judge Glenda Hatchett in January 2022. Former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown reportedly witnessed the incident and intervened too.
Coody pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of s*xual battery and was given one year of probation, a $500 fine, and sentenced to 400 hours of community service. He further wrote a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, on Monday, and resigned from his post as sheriff.
Coody's attorney, Joel Pugh, mentioned that he resigned as he is taking full responsibility for his actions.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.
Glenda Hatchett said that Kris Coody came up to her "uninvited" and assaulted her
According to Kris Coody's arrest warrant, the assault took place at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel on January 18, 2022. Former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown revealed that Hatchett was his guest at the law enforcement gathering. He reported that the assault took place while he was introducing Hatchett to some of the sheriffs present.
He stated that he saw Coody inappropriately touching Hatchett and "grabbed his arm" and threw it off her chest, as per CNN. The TV judge recalled the incident and said that Coody came up to her "uninvited" while she was at the gathering and grabbed her.
Cobb State Court Judge Carl Bowers further apologized to Hatchett since the case took so long to come to a conclusion.
Hatchett shed light on how she felt days after the assault
In a press conference on Monday, the TV judge said:
"I am a very strong woman, I pride myself on being strong and I really thought I was fine."
She, however, recalled the days after the assault, and how it impacted her, as she continued:
"I needed help. My life had been changed. And as I said to the judge in the court this morning that I never expected that I would be so deeply affected by this. I cried and cried and cried in court."
Kris Coody served as the county's sheriff since 2017 and resigned after pleading guilty to the allegations against him. Glenda Hatchett serves as a presiding judge at the Fulton County Juvenile Court and also hosted the show, Judge Hatchett.
After the hearing came to an end, she uploaded a post on Instagram with a caption that read:
"Today, Justice has been served."
Apart from the fine and punishment, Coody was also ordered not to have any contact with Hatchett.
