DALTON, Ga.

Man sentenced in child assault

A 21-year-old Dalton man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a then-12-year-old girl after she had run away from home.

Cody Satterfield, who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty in January to child molestation and was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison and 10 on probation, the district attorney's office said in a news release.

In 2011, the girl's father reported his daughter as a runaway and a Whitfield County deputy found her with Satterfield, Conasauga District Attorney Bert Poston said.

After first denying wrongdoing, Satterfield admitted the sexual conduct with the girl and that he knew she was only 12, Poston said.

Charges of aggravated child molestation and enticing a child were dismissed by the state in exchange for the guilty plea, Poston said. When Satterfield is released from prison, he will be prohibited from contacting the girl and must register as a sex offender.

ATLANTA

77 rabbits found inside home

Police officers who went to a Dunwoody, Ga., home recently to serve a warrant for a probation violation were alarmed to find dozens of rabbits.

According to a police incident report, most of the 77 rabbits were running loose inside the home.

"Copious amounts of rabbit feces were observed on the ground, beds, couches, counters and throughout the living quarters," the report stated.

Officers found a lack of proper food and water for the animals, which the residents told police were being kept for "rescue purposes." Some of the rabbits showed signs of neglect and/or abuse, police said.

Police charged two adults living in the home with animal cruelty. One person also was charged with failure to appear in court for a traffic violation, and a third person was charged with illegal possession of a prescription drug.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.

Drug raid nets sheriff's deputy

Federal drug enforcement agents who arrested a cocaine delivery recipient discovered he was a Rutherford County sheriff's deputy.

The Daily News Journal reported a federal criminal complaint was filed Monday in Nashville against Luis Reynaldo Parra Flores, 35, of Murfreesboro. He is charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine.

U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee Jerry E. Martin's office said Drug Enforcement Administration agents intercepted a drug courier with seven kilograms of cocaine in his luggage at Nashville International Airport on March 13. Federal agents and Metro Nashville police arrested Flores as he tried to take possession. They found he was carrying a firearm and a badge identifying him as a deputy.

Sheriff Robert Arnold fired Flores and destroyed his badge.