A Bartow County man who faced multiple charges related to child pornography and other sex crimes was sentenced to two years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to reduced charges.
Jeffrey Douglas Coleman, 54, of Cartersville, agreed to a deal with prosecutors in which he received a 15-year sentence that included two years behind bars, according to Bartow court documents. In return, he pleaded guilty to one count of violating child pornography laws. He must also pay a $1,000 fine.
Coleman was arrested in 2018 as part of “Operation Paladin,” a multi-agency effort led by the GBI that resulted in the arrests of 20 men across North Georgia. All of the men, ranging in age from 20 to 59, faced charges related to communicating with children online in the hopes of meeting them for sex.
Coleman originally faced six charges, including sex trafficking, enticing a child for indecent purposes and multiple counts of criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation. As part of the plea deal, the Bartow District Attorney’s Office dropped one charge of sex trafficking and merged the remaining five charges into the one child pornography charge.
After serving two years in jail, Coleman’s remaining 15-year sentence will be served on probation. Court documents show that the conditions of his probation forbid Coleman to have any contact with minors, either online or in person, and requires him to gain court approval before changing his residence or job. He will also be required to follow a curfew, is forbidden from drinking alcohol and must keep a driving log for probation officers.
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