In the wake of sex solicitation charges against him, the man who held leadership positions in two Pike County cities was removed from those jobs by leaders of those cities Thursday night.
The GBI reported Wednesday it had arrested Molena Police Chief James Roberts, who is also mayor of Concord, on charges that he used one position to solicit sex from young men and provided one with county gasoline.
Concord’s city council met at 7 p.m. Thursday and by the end of the hour-long meeting had unanimously voted to declare Roberts as “being absent,” said Concord Mayor Pro Tem John Strickland, who was named acting mayor to serve until Roberts addresses his criminal charges or resigns.
“There’s a term in our charter that says when they’re absent and unable to perform their duties, and that’s basically where he is — in jail,” Strickland said. “It was just a formality so that we can continue on with the progress of the town. [We had to] do a vote so that somebody’s the head of the town [while] he’s incapacitated at this point with the maladies of his problems, and so to pay the bills and to keep the city water and that sort of thing, we had to make a move.
“We can’t control his destiny. We have to control ours,” Strickland said. “Until he does something on his part, we have to continue to run the town, and that’s the way our charter shows us to do it.”
Less than 7 miles away, city officials in Molena met at the same hour to discuss Roberts’ future as police chief. Following a previously scheduled budget workshop, the council met at 7 p.m. to address the personnel matter.
By the time the meeting ended around 8 p.m., Roberts had been suspended with pay by the authority of Mayor Jay Garner.
“At this time, we are supporting Chief Roberts and his family, and we’re just waiting to see what comes as a result of the allegations,” Garner said. “Our council is in support of him, and he has not been terminated. This is a temporary 30-day suspension until we can get some more answers as far as the allegations go, or we figure out how long his suspension needs to be.”
The council city voted to hire Novin Darsey, a semi-retired law enforcement officer, to serve as interim police chief in Roberts’ absence. Darsey’s hire was approved by a 5-1 vote.
The GBI was requested to investigate on Aug. 24 after grandparents complained to the Pike County Sheriff Office that Roberts was victimizing their grandson, GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said. The investigation also charges Roberts sent obscene pictures to a juvenile on his city phone.
District Attorney Scott Ballard, who presides in the Griffin Judicial Circuit that includes Pike County, determined Roberts would be charged with two counts of solicitation of sodomy and one count of theft by conversion, Lang said.
“We’re just shocked and saddened by his situation, and we’re not going to let it affect our city,” Strickland said. “We’re moving on.”
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