A Cartersville man who had been out of prison on probation since 2011 is headed back behind bars after being charged with rape, authorities said.
Joe Roscoe Grissom, born in 1967, had his probation revoked after a judge determined his rape charge from November violated it, Bartow County District Attorney Rosemary Greene told the Cartersville-based Daily Tribune News.
In 2009, Grissom was sentenced to three years in prison followed by 12 years on probation for two felony firearms-related charges and a count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records.
Grissom, who is HIV-positive, is accused of raping a woman at the Amberwood Apartments off Tennessee Street sometime between Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 of last year, Greene told the newspaper. At the time, he would’ve had about six years of probation remaining.
Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections
Credit: Georgia Department of Corrections
The victim allegedly passed out at a party and woke up in bed next to Grissom, whom she said was nude at the time, Greene said. She testified that she had no recollections of the incident, and her pants were on backward when she woke up.
Grissom, who was charged with rape and reckless conduct, has been held at the Bartow County Jail since being arrested Nov. 1, Greene said. While his rape charge remains pending, the state has elected not to proceed on the reckless conduct charge, which stemmed from his HIV-positive status.
In addition to witness testimony and testimony from the victim, a GBI DNA analyst and the sexual assault nurse examiner who treated the victim also appeared in court Tuesday, she said.
Cherokee Judicial Circuit Judge D. Scott Smith found that Grissom had violated his probation and sentenced him back to prison for four years, nine months and 22 days, Greene said.
Since 1987, this will be his fourth trip to prison, GDC records show. He was last released in August 2011 from Rogers State Prison in Reidsville.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said the court hearing took place Friday, April 26. The court hearing was actually Tuesday, April 23.
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