Georgia Sheriff Charged With Groping TV’s Judge Hatchett At Public Function
A Georgia sheriff is facing charges of groping a popular television judge in an incident that angered a fellow law enforcement officer and motivated him to speak out.
According to WSB-TV, prosecutors accused Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody of groping Judge Glenda Hatchett at a sheriff’s convention earlier this year.
Hatchett, 70, is best known for her roles on the bench in the nationally syndicated show Judge Hatchett, which ran from 2000-2008. Since 2016, she has starred in a new courtroom show, The Verdict with Judge Hatchett.
Thomas Brown, a former DeKalb County sheriff listed as a witness to the alleged incident, said he had to physically intervene. He says Hatchett was his guest at the conference, and that Coody groped her as he was introducing her to sheriffs at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Bar.
Brown says three sheriffs, including Coody, came to the standup table. As he turned his head away from Coody, Brown claims when he turned his head back he saw Coody’s “hand go down on her left breast.”
“I grabbed his arm threw it off of her chest and basically said, ‘What are you (adjective) think you’re doing?’ and that’s basically where it ended,” he said.
Brown said he was so angry that his first reaction was to do more than take his hand off of the judge.
“She was there as my guest, so I was obviously upset,” Brown said. “Obviously mad. He was obviously intoxicated.”
Brown said Hatchett told him the incident shocked her. “After that, she had a rough time of it,” he said.
Coody has been charged with sexual battery. According to a statement from the sheriff’s office and Coody after he turned himself in, he says he takes the charges seriously and will comply with all legal obligations placed on him.
Brown notes that he made the story public because he wants the judicial system to be respected.
“I felt like I needed to say something, because the accusation is now out. It’s unsealed,” he said. “The judge had no problems with it being unsealed, because she’s a lot stronger now.”
