In light of recent Ebola virus concerns, officials at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center are taking several precautionary measures as they keep a Lawrenceville man locked up days after his return from an African nation.
Justin Clay St. Germaine was taken into custody on Oct. 9 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on charges of rape, child molestation and two counts of aggravated child molestation, which stemmed from a Woodstock police investigation. The 33-year-old’s arrest came after his return to the United States after being on an oil rig off the coast of Gabon, officially known as the Gabonese Republic.
Because of his trip to Africa, jail officials are taking precautions in case he came in contact with the Ebola virus, said Lt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
St. Germaine showed no symptoms of Ebola at the airport, Baker said, and he continues to show no symptoms of the virus as personnel monitor his vital signs twice daily. He is being kept in one of the detention center’s negative pressure isolation cells, of which the facility has four. Each of those cells has its own ventilation system.
Baker adds that officials have been and continue to be in contact with the Centers for Disease Control as they watch St. Germaine’s condition.
Brittany Duncan, public information officer for Woodstock police, said her department is not currently releasing details on the charges against St. Germaine out of respect for the victim.
The Cherokee County detention facility is not the first in metro Atlanta to address the Ebola issue in recent weeks. The Cobb County Jail tested an inmate for the virus after he claimed to have visited Kenya, Nigeria and Liberia, the latter of which is at the epicenter of the west Africa Ebola outbreak. Jail personnel sanitized the areas of the facility in which the inmate had been.
Harry Randall Withers, who was in the jail on a drunk driving charge, tested negative for the virus, and it was later determined that he hadn't been abroad in years. He now faces three felony counts of making false statements.
About the Author
