Man accused of sex crimes surrenders

The man accused of sexually assaulting women in his Cobb County drug rehab houses turned himself into police Wednesday afternoon.

Dwight Leon Futch, 48, of Austell, faces several charges involving five women who previously lived in one of two Mentor 1 group homes in Austell. But Futch claims he is innocent. The women are just retaliating for getting kicked out of the halfway houses for violating rules, he has told the AJC.

In an arrest warrant issued last week by Cobb County police, Futch is accused of engaging in sex acts with various female clients between September 2008 and November 2009. He faces various sexual battery, assault and sodomy charges related to the incidences, which were done without the victims' consent, according to police. Futch is accused of fondling women who were his clients.

Cobb police said last week Futch is on the run. He turned himself in at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to online jail records.

"I'm a community man," Futch told the AJC on Saturday. "I've got two houses. I ain't running nowhere."

Futch said he and his wife, Laveta, serve as mediators for drug abusers who otherwise would be sent to jail. Often, the clients have been court-ordered into rehab program, Futch said.

There are strict rules for those that end up in one of the halfway houses he runs, Futch said. Random drug testing and curfews are part of the program. Violators, Futch said, likely end up in jail.

In addition to the halfway houses, Futch says he teaches anger management courses and life-coping skills to others in the Austell community.

"I'm a pastor, " Futch said. "All I did was open my church doors."

The five woman accusing Futch in the arrest warrant were all kicked out of his program, Futch said.

"I've made them so accountable that many of them could not toe the line," Futch said. "They have totally fabricated this story, and the detectives have run with it."

The AJC does not name victims of sex-related crimes, but at least two of the woman are currently incarcerated, according to state and Cobb County inmate records.