A College Park man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for statutory rape and other charges in a 2015 case involving 11- and 13-year-old girls.

Joshua Arnold, 37, also was convicted of two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Dontaye Carter, spokesman for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, said Wednesday.

Police received a call from an 11-year-old girl who said she had nowhere to go, Carter said in a media release. When police arrived at the location, the girl said she ran away from home with a 13-year-old friend the night before. The girl told police the 13-year-old was at a nearby apartment with Arnold.

Derrick Taylor (Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
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At the apartment, police found the 13-year-old victim hiding naked in a closet, according to the release. The victim told officers Arnold had sex with her at least five times.

Detectives also learned the 11-year-old victim had sex with a friend of Arnold’s, 28-year-old Derrick Taylor. The men met the girls soon after they left home.

The men gave the girls illegal drugs such as marijuana and methamphetamine before having sex with them, Carter said.

Arnold will have to serve three years on probation after his prison term.

Taylor pleaded guilty to statutory rape and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the release. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with seven more on probation

In other news:

DeKalb County police said two people were found dead inside but the baby was OK.

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