3-time felon accused of raping 12-year-old girl in Coweta County

A man released from state prison in April is now accused of raping and assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Coweta County, according to police.

Shalin Ren Payne, 29, allegedly chased the girl in her home before throwing her to the floor and attacking her with her 4-year-old brother nearby, Lt. Col. James Yarbrough with the Coweta Sheriff's Office said Thursday. The Newnan Times-Herald was the first to report on the Monday assault at a Sharpsburg home.

When the girl’s mother returned home, Payne was on top of the child, Yarbrough said.

“She came in on what he was doing, and she hit him with some type of bowl,” Yarbrough said. “He punched her, too.”

Payne ran outside with only a T-shirt on and tried to run from deputies, but he was caught and arrested. Payne was charged with rape, aggravated assault, sexual battery, sodomy and child molestation, Coweta jail records showed.

Payne likely wouldn’t have been able to hide for long. Most of his face is covered in tattoos, his booking mugshot showed. And before the picture was taken, Payne was required to remove numerous piercings, Yarbrough said.

At the time of his arrest, Payne was on parole after serving two years in prison for a burglary conviction, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He also served time from February 2004 until May 2007 and again from November 2010 until March 2012 for other convictions, including aggravated assault, burglary and theft, records showed.

Payne was being held without bond Thursday at the Coweta jail.