Second Deputy in Former Youth Program Charged With Molesting Teen

ATHENS, GA (AP) -- A woman who says she was molested as a teen by a sheriff's deputy is the second participant in a now-defunct Oglethorpe County youth program to report having sex with a deputy while in the program.

The woman was 15 when she participated in the Oglethorpe County Junior Law Enforcement program -- or Explorers -- in 2003. That's when former Oglethorpe County deputy Brian Walter Anderson is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with her.

Anderson, 26, a University of Georgia police officer for the past two years, was charged Tuesday with child molestation, aggravated child molestation and violating his oath of office. Anderson had repeated sexual contact with the girl about 4 1/2 years ago, said University of Georgia Police Chief Jimmy Williamson.

Another deputy in former Sheriff Jason Lowe's administration, Samuel Roy Wilbanks, pleaded guilty to aggravated child molestation in 2004 for having repeated sexual contact with a girl who participated in the Explorers program between November 2003 and April 2004.

Wilbanks, now 34, was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Current Oglethorpe Sheriff Mike Smith said Anderson remained a deputy with Oglethorpe County for about a year after Smith took office, then left voluntarily. Smith said he had no indication of any wrongdoing by Anderson during that time.

Anderson resigned Tuesday, the same day he was arrested. He was being held Wednesday in a jail outside of Oglethorpe County, according to Smith. Young Explorer participants were allowed to ride alone with deputies as part of the program, which was designed to let young people explore a possible law enforcement career. Smith said he shut down the ride-along program when he took office in 2005, and the Explorer program subsequently ended due to lack of interest.

The family of Wilbanks' young is suing Oglethorpe County, former Oglethorpe Sheriff Lowe and others in federal court. According to the family's complaint, Wilbanks met the girl while working security at a high school football game and later provided her alcohol and convinced her to have sex with him in a patrol car.

The relationship continued for months, according to the court documents. Police have released few details so far about the charges against Anderson.

After the victim contacted UGA police about three weeks ago, Williamson contacted Smith and the two agreed that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation should be brought in, Smith said.

Williamson said UGA police and GBI agents investigated the victim's claims for about 20 days before charging Anderson.

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