Peace officer arrested on alleged child molestation charges

PICKENS COUNTY, Ga – Pickens County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) charged Gaylon Earl Mathews,57, with three counts of aggravated child molestation(2) and child molestation (1) on Feb. 4, 2020.

Mathews was a certified peace officer who reportedly worked at a school in Cherokee County, but he lived in Jasper. He was not employed in a law enforcement capacity in Pickens County.

After the initial arrest, PCSO asked GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) to take over due to the suspects history in law enforcement.

GBI Special Agent Dustin Hamby attested in three separate warrants that Mathews knowingly committed aggravated child molestation from Nov. 1 to Dec. 21, 2014 and March 14 to April 15, 2015, with a child under the age of 16. Mathews also allegedly committed child molestation from Nov. 1 to Nov. 31, 2014 with a child under the age of 16.

O.C.G.A. separates the charges by establishing that aggravated child molestation leaves a physical injury on the child or involves the act of sodomy. Child molestation is any immoral or indecent act performed in the presence of a child under 16. It also includes the use of electronic devices to transmit immoral images to a child.

Please remember everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Fetch Your News will update this story as more information becomes available.