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Metro Atlanta

Cobb man sentenced for raping 4-year-old girl

Mugshot of Frederick Sherwood

Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office

Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office

Mugshot of Frederick Sherwood
By Ben Brasch
Oct 2, 2018

A 48-year-old Marietta man was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life in prison for raping a four-year-old girl.

Frederick Wade Sherwood was convicted of rape and other similar charges, according to a Cobb County district attorney’s office news release.

A judge sentenced Sherwood to two consecutive life sentences plus 120 years.

The girl told her family a year or so after the attacks began, prosecutors said. Sherwood told her to “keep it a secret,” according to a warrant.

READ | Cobb man gets three life sentences for raping younger female relatives

“Any time a small child has to face their abuser in court is particularly difficult,” said prosecutor Katie Gropper.

From the witness stand, the DA’s office said, the girl clutched a stuffed animal and said she didn’t tell anyone about the abuse sooner because she was scared Sherwood would be mad at her.

Sherwood has been in Cobb jail since his May 2016 arrest.

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About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

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