Sex Crimes To Woman With Mental Disability Earns Life In Jail

DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — A Douglas County jury convicted a man Friday of sex crimes committed against a woman "without the ability to consent."

On Friday Sept. 28, after a week long jury trial, a Douglas County Jury found James Levi Stokes guilty of one count of aggravated sodomy and two counts of aggravated sexual battery for acts he committed against a 39- year-old woman who did not have the mental capacity to consent to the sexual acts. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Sam Newman and investigated by Detective Victoria Bender with the Douglasville Police Department. Superior Court Judge Cynthia Adams presided over the case. The Defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of Life in Prison.

On Oct. 22 2016, Stokes went to the home of the victim, where she lived with her mother. The victim and her mother both believed that Stokes was taking the woman to the Burger King on Highway 5 for dinner. Instead of taking her to Burger King, Stokes drove the victim to the back of the old Sentinel Building parking lot, and parked the car next to a dumpster. He then pulled a banana out of his glove box, peeled the banana and used the banana to sexually penetrate the woman. He also forced the woman to perform oral sex on him, and penetrated her sexually with his fingers. The victim was bleeding as a result of these acts. After she got home, later that evening, the victim was able to tell her mother what had happened to her. The mother took her to the hospital, and a family friend called the police.

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The victim testified at trial and, despite the embarrassing nature of the testimony, bravely recounted to the jury the things that Stokes had done to her. The victim’s mother and friends testified as well. The State presented the videotaped interview with Stokes, conducted by Detective Bender, where he made incriminating statements, and also called a Chattahoochee Hills Police Sargent to testify regarding the Defendant’s suicide attempt the day after Detective Bender’s interview of him. The State was also able to present to the jury testimony and certified convictions from the Stokes’s two prior child sexual abuse convictions for acts committed against four separate teenage girls in Kentucky.

District Attorney Ryan Leonard praised the jury’s verdict, stating, “We will always fight to protect the most vulnerable victims in our community. The jury’s verdict in this case ensures that this defendant will not be able to victimize anyone else. ”

Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Newman credited the bravery of the victim in testifying in this case, saying, “the bravery shown by the victim in being able to tell her story in a room full of strangers is incredibly admirable. Because of this victim, a predator who has been preying on women for far too long, has finally been stopped.”

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