Suspended Worth County Sheriff Unaffected by Settlement in Student Search Case

On Monday, Governor Nathan Deal announced the suspension of the Sheriff in Worth County after months of controversy and now, the people await the appointment of an interim Sheriff by the Chief Superior Court Judge. Deal said Hobby remaining on the job would compromise the integrity of law enforcement in the community.

The southwest Georgia county, population 20,699, garnered national headlines after news broke of Sheriff Jeff Hobby allegedly violating the rights of hundreds of students at Worth County High School back in April of this year when he and several of his deputies placed the school on lockdown for four hours to conduct drug searches, forcing students to stand spread eagle. Classes were suspended and more than 850 students were searched, despite law enforcement officials seeking a particular 13 students. No drugs or other illegal paraphernalia were found. Worse, cell phones were collected and students were not permitted to contact their parents.

The Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of the students, which was coincidentally preliminarily settled the day after Deal announced the suspension of Hobby, alledging the searches were humiliating invasive, and warrantless. The suspension followed a commission review that considered the charges currently pending against Hobby and the other two deputies, including violation of oath by a public officer, two counts of false imprisonment and one count of misdemeanor sexual battery.

Hobby could still return to the job, though, depending on the outcome of the criminal charges, which the Georgia Sheriff’s Association says will be resolved in January.

As for the settlement, which was announced Tuesday, it calls for the maximum payout of $3 million to settle the civil rights violations. Each student would get between $1,000 and $6,000, depending on the severity of the search. 15% goes to attorneys and half of the remaining funds go to a fund for the beenfit of Worth County students. It must still be approved by a federal judge before it can be dispersed.

Personally, I’m torn on the issue. Of course, I find the searches, the seizures, the lockdown and the disruption to the school day all to be egregious. In a day and age where so many are working hard to restore the trust between law enforcement and the community, Sheriff Hobby only set fire to the bridges that have been built. In a small community like Worth County, the damage done is considerable.

But is the legal system providing a remedy for the issue? I’m not sure. The insurance for the defendants is capped at $3 million, but none of the defendants are held personally held liable. The Sheriff and his deputies maintain they did nothing wrong and a third-party is handling the restitution. While it sends a strong message to other law enforcement officials, it’s unclear if the officials involved in the case heard the message.

I’m also conflicted on the sexual battery charge which stemmed from allegations that deputies “touched and manipulated students’ breasts and genitals” and “inserted fingers inside girls’ bras,” as well as revealed the students’ body parts. In writing, it sounds awful, and I’m sure it was equally awful to experience, but those of us who advocate for lay person defendants to receive the benefit of the doubt and for ‘intent’ to be taken into account need to be cautious in calling for the prosecution of a crime that would place someone on the sex offender registry for life. As for the other charges, may justice be swift.