A grandfather was sentenced to a total of 255 years with 75 to serve last week for charges of molesting a granddaughter and mistreatment of a grandson. Jackie Whorton was arrested in August 2005 for allegedly molesting his granddaughter. A Jones County jury found him guilty of the charges September 1 after six hours of deliberation. The defendant was sentenced by Ocmulgee Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge William Prior Jr., who presided over the case.
Whorton was charged with one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, seven counts of child molestation, one count of incest, two counts aggravated child molestation, and six counts of cruelty to children.
He was found guilty of 14 of the counts, two of which were aggravated child molestation. Georgia law requires 90 percent of the 30-year sentence for aggravated child molestation to be served before any consideration for parole.
The three counts the defendant was found not guilty of pertained to cruelty to children.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Keagan Goodrich, and Whorton was represented by Macon attorney Debra Gomez. “Jackie Whorton began a reign of terror in 1999, and it is time for it to come to an end,” Goodrich said to begin her closing arguments.
The day he was charged was Whorton’s 68th birthday, and the irony of the occasion was not lost on Goodrich.
“Judge Prior gave him the birthday present he deserved,” she stated.
Goodrich said she was pleased with the jury’s verdict and the resulting sentence.
“It was a long, painful process, but in the end I’m happy to be able to provide some justice to this family,” she added.
The evidence portion of the trial began Tuesday morning and lasted three full days. The case was given to the jurors at 9 a.m. Friday for their determination of Whorton’s guilt on the 17 counts for which he was indicted in February of 2005.
The molestation charges pertained to his conduct with his granddaughter, and the cruelty to children counts included the granddaughter and a grandson.
Whorton was divorced from his wife of 37 years in 1999 following a three-year separation. He is the father of six children and eight grandchildren.
State’s evidence
The first witness for the prosecution was the victim of the molestation. The 16-year-old young woman was composed on the witness stand until questions of the molestation began. An almost visible veil of pain and grief fell across the teenager’s face when she was asked what her grandfather did to her, and she eventually broke down into sobs and had to leave the courtroom.
When the victim returned, the chair was taken down from the witness stand, and she was positioned so that Whorton was not in her field of vision. The young woman slowly started talking about being fondled and violated by the man she called ‘Papa’.
The victim and her brothers were being raised by their single mother, having lost her father when she was five. She said her nightmare began when she was 10 years old, and her grandfather visited the family while they were living in Canada.
The sexual abuse continued during trips with the grandfather, who eventually moved in with the family. The family moved back to Jones County in 2002. The children were home-schooled, and their mother worked constantly, having a tax preparation office built next to the house, which kept her occupied when she would get home from her day job.
The victim said she was convinced by the grandfather that, if she told what was happening, her mother would not believe her and would kick her out of the house. When she finally decided she had nothing to lose and was ready to leave home, the young woman told her mother everything that had been happening. To her surprise, her mother not only believed her but called the sheriff’s department and took the children away that night.
The brothers also testified. They painted a picture of spending their days outside tending to their chickens after the grandfather got up, which was usually after noon. Each of the brothers talked about misbehaving and being disciplined with paint sticks, belts, and occasionally tomato sticks. They also told about being slapped in the back of the head regularly, being kicked and hit with a broom. The oldest of the brothers appeared to receive the brunt of the abuse.
The granddaughter was taken to the Crescent House in Macon, interviewed and examined. Ashely Cox, forensic interviewer at the facility, talked about the interview, and medical director Dr. Debbie West testified that her findings were consistent with child abuse.
The victim’s mother took the stand and explained that the family is part of an ‘old fashioned’ holiness church where the women are required to wear long dresses. The religion seemed to be an underlying reason for the dominance of the grandfather on the household.
The mother said she brought her father into the house because of his health problems and her need for help with childcare.
“I thought it would help both of us,” she remarked.
She said at the time she brought her father into the house, she did not realize his form of discipline was not normal.
“I didn’t realize it was abuse at the time,” the mother said.
Sharon Kurek, another of Whorton’s daughters, moved to California in 2001. She described her father as controlling, volatile, and unapproachable.
“I had issues with my sister allowing our father to live in her home,” Kurek said. “I didn’t agree with his discipline. I’ve heard him use derogatory names to the children and do not feel kicking is appropriate. I told her that.”
Kurek said she loves her father and was concerned about his well being after his arrest. She spoke with him on the phone and asked him about the allegations against him.
She said her father told her his granddaughter was asking questions about sex and then quoted him as saying, “Let’s just say things went too far.”
Other witnesses included a sex offender expert, a computer expert to testify about pornography found on Whorton’s computer, and two men who met Whorton while he was in hiding after jumping bond.
Defense case
Whorton was represented by Macon attorney Debra Gomez. The main part of his defense was his claim of impotency.
His daughter, Lori Roberts, testified on his behalf stating that her childhood was ‘regular’.
“It was very strict. He set rules, and we were expected to obey,” Roberts said. “That is what the Bible says. I don’t think my father was abusive.”
Roberts continued to say that she left home when she was 18 so she could do what she wanted.
Roberts has children of her own who spent time with her father, and she admitted asking him not to yell at them. The daughter was added to her father’s checking account when he was released on bond, and a travel trailer he purchased to live in was titled in her name.
Two of Roberts’ sons testified in their grandfather’s behalf, and Dr. Candy Nobles-James explained Whorton’s recent test results that revealed low testosterone levels.
Whorton’s family physician, Dr. Mark Glodner, stated that he remembers the defendant mentioning a problem with erectile dysfunction several years ago, but nothing was documented in his records.
Whorton’s son, Michael, was a defense witness but seemed to be the one adult who confirmed the stories of physical abuse. He spoke of seeing his father hit and kick the oldest of the brothers while on a monthly visit to the family. Michael Whorton also talked about his childhood, having good times and bad.
The son recalled a tractor incident as a teenager. He said his father kept yelling at him for not plowing straight and hit him in the mouth a couple of times. The younger Whorton said he eventually had enough and went to the house and locked himself in the bathroom. He said his father ‘let his temper get the best of him’ and kicked the door open.
Whorton took the stand himself and readily admitted to being a strict disciplinarian, adding that he was raised in a strict household.
The defendant told his side of the story and answered questions of the abuse of his granddaughter with righteous indignation. Whorton said his lack of sexual desire was the reason for his divorce.
“She [his wife] didn’t think I loved her,” he stated. “I’ve had the problem since the early 1990s.”
Whorton did not deny slapping his grandsons on the back of the head or spanking them with a belt and large-size paint stirrers, but he said it was not his rule that the boys tend the chickens.
He denied showing his grandchildren pornography as they had testified and had no answer for the reason his granddaughter made her allegations.
Whorton admitted skipping bond was not a good idea. He said he did not have a lawyer for an upcoming court proceeding, and he panicked.
“I’ve never been in trouble before. I didn’t plan to come back,” he commented.
Later he added, “I didn’t want to put my family through this mess.”
Closing arguments
Gomez began her closing remarks, stating the obvious.
“It’s all or nothing; you either believe Mr. Whorton or not,” the defense attorney said. “Whatever happens here, the fabric of this family has been torn apart.”
She reiterated the focal point of the defense, that he was not guilty because he is not able to perform sexually.
Gomez said the allegations against Whorton are horrible and suggested the victim’s need for her mother’s attention as a reason.
“When the indictment was read, I saw your minds close,” the attorney said. “It was my job to reopen them.”
The state’s attorney read the 17 counts of the indictment and gave a short reminder of each offense.
“She [the victim] was 10 when he first started taking her innocence away,” Goodrich said. “Mr. Whorton took advantage of the situation of living in his daughter’s home, and he took advantage of being alone with his granddaughter all day.”
Goodrich pointed out that the victim was home-schooled and did not have the opportunity of talking to a teacher or counselor.
“When you evaluate the credibility of the witnesses, consider who has the motivation to lie,” she concluded. “There are a lot of secrets under the surface of this family.”
Following Whorton’s sentencing and subsequent departure from the courtroom, the family took the time to thank Goodrich and the staff of the District Attorney’s office.
The prosecutor in turn congratulated the victim on her courage to come forward and commented that many adults would not have had that courage.
“That’s true; I never did,” Whorton’s former wife, the victim’s grandmother, said.
