DeKalb man sentenced to life in prison after rape, child molestation conviction

Justin King was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on charges of rape and child molestation. The victims were 8 and 9 years old at the time of the abuse in 2018 and 2019.

Credit: File photo

Credit: File photo

Justin King was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on charges of rape and child molestation. The victims were 8 and 9 years old at the time of the abuse in 2018 and 2019.

A man was sentenced to life in prison for raping and molesting two girls under his care, officials announced Friday.

Justin Kennard King, 33, was convicted April 18 on charges of rape, two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of child molestation and three counts of cruelty to children, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a news release.

An investigation was opened by DeKalb police after one of the victims notified her grandmother about the abuse, which took place for nearly a year between 2018 and 2019, Boston said. At the time, the victims were 8 and 9 years old.

“King was an acquaintance of the victims’ family and had access to them through periodic visits with various relatives,” spokesperson Lisa Myers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Investigators found that King molested the children and forced them to perform sexual acts on multiple occasions at homes in Stone Mountain and Decatur, prosecutors said. Both girls witnessed the other being sexually assaulted.

King, who was taken into custody in July 2019, was ordered to serve life in prison plus 21 years, followed by four years of probation.

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