Worth County Sheriff Jeff Hobby faces new charges this week related to the bizarre case where he ordered his deputies to carry out a massive drug search that violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of high school students in south Georgia.

The new charges filed Monday come two months after a Worth County grand jury indicted the sheriff on charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment and violation of oath of office related to the search he ordered in April where his deputies carried out invasive body searches of an entire local high school.

The latest charges accuse Hobby of interfering with the GBI’s criminal investigation in the case. Hobby is charged with interfering with witnesses, obstruction of justice and violation of oath of office. The warrants say Hobby told his employees at the sheriff’s office not to talk about the case with GBI investigators or the local district attorney’s office as they were investigating last summer.

About the Author

Keep Reading

If the Senate's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes, the 30% federal tax credits offered for clean energy installations — such as these solar panels being installed atop an Ellenwood home in 2022 — would be sunset by the end of 2025. (Jason Getz/AJC 2022)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Featured

People carrying a giant pride flag participate in the annual Pride Parade in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez