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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas suspended following arrest on cruelty to children, battery charges

FILE - Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas (5) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, July 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga.,  adding to the team's recent legal woes. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
FILE - Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas (5) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, July 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga., adding to the team's recent legal woes. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File) FILE - Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas (5) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, July 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga., adding to the team's recent legal woes. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia wide receiver Rodarius “Rara” Thomas has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, adding to the team’s recent legal woes.

Athens-Clarke County jail records show Thomas was booked at 3:20 a.m. on felony charges of cruelty to children and misdemeanor battery charges. Bail had not been set as of Friday afternoon.

It is the second arrest for Thomas in two years. Thomas, a transfer from Mississippi State, was arrested by University of Georgia police on Jan. 23, 2023, on a felony charge of false imprisonment and a misdemeanor count of family violence battery. The charges were dropped when Thomas entered a pretrial diversion program.

Details on Friday’s arrest, which also are family violence offenses, were not immediately available.

Georgia executive associate athletic director for strategic communications Steven Drummond said in a statement provided to The Associated Press that “this is a pending legal matter. We will have no further comment at this point.”