STEVEN STYLES SENTENCING

 

 

A Douglas County man was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for engaging in sexual intercourse with a 13 year old child which resulted in the young girl becoming pregnant. Superior Court Judge David T. Emerson sentenced Steven Craig Styles, who is 30 years of age, to a sentence of 20 years for count one of Child Molestation with 18 years to serve in prison followed by 10 years of probation on a count of Cruelty to a Child. Styles was ordered to have no contact with the victim, will be a registered sex offender when he is released from prison and must complete special sex offender requirements while on probation.

Assistant District Attorney Eddie Barker, who prosecuted the case, told the Court that the molestation occurred in September 2005 at the victim’s home when the defendant was 27 years of age. The resulting pregnancy was terminated and it was then discovered the victim was pregnant with twin girls. Fetal tissue was recovered by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department and was sent to a lab in North Carolina for DNA paternity testing. Law enforcement, with warrants in hand, began looking for Styles in November 2005 but he was not arrested until May 2007. At that time, he consented to giving his DNA for testing. The results showed he was the biological father of the unborn children. A second DNA test was performed by another laboratory in Ohio at the defense’s request. However, the results of that independent test only confirmed Styles was indeed the father.

At the sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother described the emotional, physical and psychological effect the events had taken on her daughter. She asked the Court to impose a harsh sentence for the acts and consequences that had occurred. Barker also presented to the Court a prior felony conviction that Styles had for Violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. Barker stated, “The District Attorney’s office has always sought and will continue to seek lengthy prison sentences where young children have been harmed or sexually assaulted. There is no justification in cases like this for a grown man to engage in sexual conduct with a child. We will continue to seek justice for the victim’s and their families.”

The case was set for trial on Monday. The defendant was represented by Alison Frutoz.