In a letter of fewer than a dozen words, including his name, embattled Roswell City Councilman Kent Igleheart resigned from his post Tuesday, just hours before the board was set to meet.
“I hereby resign from Roswell City Council Post 4,” Igleheart wrote in the email shortly after 5 p.m.
Mayor Jere Wood, who is out of the country, replied 40 minutes later:
“Your resignation is hereby accepted on behalf of the City of Roswell.”
Igleheart, 53, is accused of sexual exploitation of a child, enticing a child for indecent purposes and furnishing alcohol to a minor. Authorities say he maintained a four-year relationship with a girl, beginning when she was 13.
He was arrested Oct. 20 and posted the $30,000 bond Sunday. Igleheart was released from the DeKalb County Jail on Monday, according to jail records.
No residents spoke out about the councilman during an open forum meeting, but several in the audience said beforehand that they were there to see what would happen with Igleheart, and if he would show up at the meeting. He did not.
More than a week after his arrest, residents still said they were shocked by the accusations against Igleheart, whom they said had been an advocate for the city.
“Something like this, I think it just shocks a city,” resident Ron Bevan said before the meeting. “Whether he’s innocent or guilty, it’s going to be difficult for him to do city business. He’ll be a distraction. It’d be nice for him to resign.”
Another resident, Claire Barnes, said Igleheart had always been on the side of residents.
“We don’t wish him ill,” she said. “It’s so sad. He was good for the city.”
Doug Fernandez came to the council meeting for a zoning matter, but said the accusations “really disturb me a great deal.”
Ian Mari, who said Igleheart lives in his subdivision, said the former councilman was a “well-respected member of the community” before his arrest.
“If he’s found guilty, they should lock him up and throw the keys away,” he said. “I was actually shocked. …I think everybody is.”
Igleheart had been Roswell’s mayor pro tem. Councilman Donald J. Horton, who was elected mayor pro tem for the meeting, announced Igleheart’s resignation from the dais. There was no reaction from the crowd.
Roswell will call a special election within the next 60 days to fill the remainder of Igleheart’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2017.
A spokesperson for the city had no comment on the situation. The city’s website has already been updated to show that the post is vacant.
Igleheart, who was first elected in 2001, said he was a consultant/actor on his city biography.
He received praise for a short film he wrote, produced and directed last year about homeless Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender teenagers. The film, Unconditional, was nominated for best short at the Gwinnett International Film Festival and won the audience award for Best Men’s Short at Atlanta’s Out on Film festival. It helped raise money for Lost-n-Found, a LGBT-focused homeless shelter.
Igleheart was arrested by DeKalb County Police at Northlake Mall. He had allegedly rented a room at a nearby Days Inn, where he intended to take the girl, who is now 17.
Igleheart and the girl had chatted on the app Kik for the past several years, where Igleheart had asked the girl to send him photos of her breasts, genitals and buttocks, according to a warrant. Police said they began an in-person relationship earlier this year.
DeKalb police Major Stephen Fore said previously, “There’s a good probability that there are other victims out there.”
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