A former Douglas County probation officer allegedly groped a woman in his office in 2012, according to an investigation by the county sheriff’s office.
Paul Williams, 57, was arrested Wednesday on a sexual assault charge after a woman on probation said he touched her inappropriately, according to investigators. Jail records show he was released on bond the next day.
Calls were placed to Williams’ Douglasville home, but there was no answer and the voicemail was full.
The woman, whose name was not released, told investigators she went to Williams’ office in May 2012 because she’d fallen behind on her court-ordered payments.
“He kept telling her she didn’t need to worry about going to jail, that they could work something out, that he could help her,” Douglas County investigator Cindy West said. “He looked at her phone of pictures she’d taken of herself and told her she looked nice and that she should look into being a model.”
After complimenting her, West said the woman reported that Williams came from around his desk and placed his hands under her shirt. He also made an attempt to put his hands down the front of the woman’s pants, West said.
The next day, the woman returned to the office with the intent of recording a conversation with Williams. She again made mention of her fear of going to jail because of late payments to the court, the investigator said.
“She had her phone on record and talked to him about the incident the day before,” West said. “He told her they could work something out, and she asked if that was what he was trying to do the day before.”
West said Williams’ reply on the recording indicated he didn’t expect “things to go as far as they did,” she said.
He became suspicious of the woman’s questions and asked if the conversation was being recorded, the investigator said. The woman was able to turn off the phone before he looked in her purse, West said.
The woman reported the incident in March, and was assigned a different probation officer. The investigator said an internal investigation into the matter ended with Williams’ dismissal earlier this year.
West said she was not aware of any previous complaints against Williams, who had been a probation officer for about two years.
The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office is expected to get the case soon, she said.
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