Clifford Eugene HubbardA North Georgia man has been convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday following a two-day trial for molesting a minor, according to the Lookout Mountain district attorney’s office.
Clifford Eugene Hubbard, 51, of Lyerly, Georgia, was convicted by a Chattooga County jury of eight counts, including multiple counts of aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery stemming from nearly a decade of sexual abuse, a news release states.
The allegations came to light when the victim told a school counselor. The counselor then contacted Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Jason Burrage, who responded to the school along with a representative from the Department of Family and Children’s Services. During the victim’s forensic interview, she mentioned several sexual acts that Hubbard had performed on her since she was 9 years old, according to the release.
The day Burrage applied for arrest warrants for Hubbard, Chattooga County officers responded to a 911 call from Hubbard’s residence, where Hubbard was found lying in his bed with a shotgun pointed to his chest. After a 17-hour standoff, law enforcement deployed tasers and arrested Hubbard when his finger slipped from the trigger.
Hubbard will serve 35 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole consideration for at least 30 years.
– Compiled by Kim Sebring