Cartersville Child Molester Gets Life: 'I Just Had A Weakness'

CARTERSVILLE, GA — A Cartersville man will serve life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl in Cobb County. On Tuesday night, jurors found Gary Thomas Shaughnessy, 64, guilty of all charges: two counts of aggravated sexual battery and five counts of child molestation. The acts charged in the indictment occurred at the girl's Powder Springs home between 2016 and 2017.

The child, who is now 11, disclosed the abuse to people at her church in 2017 and police were notified. Members of the church had noticed Shaughnessy rubbing the child's thigh and forcing her to sit on his lap. Her parents had previously witnessed some inappropriate behavior, but responded by separately telling the girl and Shaughnessy to stop. The acts began when the girl was just seven years old.

"We know that predators groom children by giving gifts and testing the waters and then escalating sexual abuse based on the child's reaction," said ADA Drew Healy, who prosecuted the case with ADA Ashton Murphy. "Parents and caregivers are also groomed, until abuse can occur in plain sight. It is essential that we notice the red flags and protect those children when they are trying to tell us something is wrong."

In addition to the child's testimony and other evidence, jurors heard recordings of calls the defendant made from the jail, including one in which he stated: "I wish I had never done what I did. I just had a weakness."

After the verdict, Shaughnessy was sentenced to life in prison plus 19 years.

Patch Editor Tim Darnell contributed to this article.

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