South Carolina Man Convicted Of Grooming, Raping Douglasville Girl: Report

DOUGLAS COUNTY, GA — A South Carolina man accused of grooming and raping an underage girl for years in Douglas County has been found guilty, WAGA-TV reported.

A jury found 39-year-old Abraham Hardy guilty of multiple counts of aggravated child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, child molestation, and statutory rape, the news station reported.

Hardy, formerly of MacDuff Drive in Douglasville, was arrested in January of 2020 on multiple counts of aggravated child molestation and other charges originating in Douglas County, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.

With the assistance of the York County Sheriff's Office, Douglas County investigators said they were able to secure search warrants for a residence on Kelly Road, where they recovered an "overwhelming amount of evidence."

An investigation into Hardy began when his underage victim told her doctor she had been abused and sexually assaulted by Hardy while living in Douglasville, WAGA-TV reported. Investigators accused Hardy of using his access to the child to groom her and abuse her for years going back as far as 2015.

Hardy was a friend of the victim's family and had known her since her birth, the news station reported. He used that relationship to manipulate his victim into thinking they had a special relationship and it was only years later after receiving counseling she realized what had happened, WAGA-TV reported.

Read more at Fox5Atlanta.com.