\\ Jury Finds Richard Carl Thompson Guilty of CSA Charges, Sentenced to Life in Prison

On Friday, October 30, 2026, a Coweta County jury found Richard Carl Thompson 72 of Newnan guilty on all five counts for which he was charged. After being found guilty, Thompson was sentenced to 180 years with the first 179 years to be served in prison, leaving the chance of serving the last year, his 180th, on parole.

The Allegations, Arrest and Indictment

Records show that on June 20, 2025, the Coweta County Sheriff's Department responded to Thompson's residence in relation to an alleged sexual offense.

Booking documents from the Coweta County Jail show that 10 days later, on June 30, 2025, Thompson was booked into the jail on the following charges:

• Child Molestation (F)
• Child Molestation (F)
• Child Molestation (F)
• Aggravated Sexual Battery (F)

On October 15, 2025, Richard Carl Thompson was indicted by a Coweta County grand jury on five counts, which, according to the indictment, stem from acts that occurred in June and July of 2023.

COUNT 1

The Grand Jury aforesaid, in the name and behalf of the Citizens of the State of Georgia, charge and accuse RICHARD CARL THOMPSON with the offense of Aggravated Sexual Battery (O.C.G.A. 16-6-22.2) in that the said accused, in the State of Georgia and in the County of Coweta, on or about the 17th day of June, 2025, did intentionally penetrate the sexual organ of ██████████ with the finger of said accused and with the thumb of said accused, each of which is a foreign object, without the consent of said person, contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

COUNT 2

The Grand Jury aforesaid, in the name and behalf of the Citizens of the State of Georgia, charge and accuse RICHARD CARL THOMPSON with the offense of Child Molestation (O.C.G.A. 16-6-4(a)) in that the said accused, in the State of Georgia and in the County of Coweta, on or about the 16th day of June, 2025, said date being a material averment, did commit an immoral and indecent act to ██████████ a child under the age of 16 years, with the intent to arouse and satisfy the sexual desires of himself, by placing the hand of said accused on the breast of said child, contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

COUNT 3

The Grand Jury aforesaid, in the name and behalf of the Citizens of the State of Georgia, charge and accuse RICHARD CARL THOMPSON with the offense of Child Molestation (O.C.G.A. 16-6-4(a)) in that the said accused, in the State of Georgia and in the County of Coweta, on or about the 17th day of June, 2025, said date being a material averment, did commit an immoral and indecent act to ██████████ a child under the age of 16 years, with the intent to arouse and satisfy the sexual desires of himself, by placing the hand of said accused on the breast of said child, contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

COUNT 4

The Grand Jury aforesaid, in the name and behalf of the Citizens of the State of Georgia, charge and accuse RICHARD CARL THOMPSON with the offense of Child Molestation (O.C.G.A. 16-6-4(a)) in that the said accused, in the State of Georgia and in the County of Coweta, between the 1st day of June, 2023, and the 31st day of July, 2023, the exact date of the offense being unknown to the Grand Jury, did commit an immoral and indecent act to ██████████ a child under the age of 16 years, with the intent to arouse and satisfy the sexual desires of himself, by placing the hand of said accused on the breast of said child, contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

COUNT 5

The Grand Jury aforesaid, in the name and behalf of the Citizens of the State of Georgia, charge and accuse RICHARD CARL THOMPSON with the offense of Child Molestation (O.C.G.A. 16-6-4(a)) in that the said accused, in the State of Georgia and in the County of Coweta, between the 1st day of June, 2023, and the 31st day of July, 2023, the exact date of the offense being unknown to the Grand Jury, did commit an immoral and indecent act to ██████████ a child under the age of 16 years, with the intent to arouse and satisfy the sexual desires of himself, by placing the hand of said accused and the finger of said accused on the vagina of said child, contrary to the laws of the State of Georgia, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

Previous Incident

Court documents show that on October 12, the prosecution notified the court and the defendant of their intentions to provide evidence of an incident involving Thompson and a then 6-year-old unidentified female who was the daughter of one of Thompson's friends in the 1970s, according to the document, Thompson engaged in an incident of aggravated child molestation against the 6-year-old female in the summer of 1974 while in a vehicle together. According to the document, that incident occurred either in Coweta or Spalding counties. Due to the length of time that has elapsed, open records regarding that incident are not readily available, and we have been unable to secure them at this time.

Sentencing Summary

The following sentencing summary gives more details regarding individual sentencing per count.

The Defendant is sentenced for a total of LIFE + 80 YEARS , [X] with the first LIFE+ 79 YEARS to be served in confinement and the remainder to be served on probation; or [ ] to be served on probation.

The Defendant is to receive credit for time served in custody: [ ] from ___ ; or [ ] as determined by the custodian. [ ] 1. The above sentence may be served on probation provided the Defendant shall comply with the Conditions of Probation imposed by the Court as part of this sentence. [X] 2. Upon service of LIFE + 79 YEARS, the remainder of the sentence may be served on probation; PROVIDED, that the Defendant shall comply with the Conditions of Probation imposed by the Court as part of this sentence.