Georgia sheriff Kristopher Coody pleads guilty to groping TV judge Glenda Hatchett

A Georgia sheriff has pleaded guilty to groping TV judge Glenda Hatchett at a hotel bar last year during a law enforcement conference. 

Glenda Hatchett recalled being so stunned that she froze when the lawman touched and grabbed her indecently. 

Bleckley county sheriff Kristopher Coody was sentenced to a year on probation after he pleaded guilty in Cobb county state court to a misdemeanour charge of sexual battery, news outlets reported.

He also resigned from the country sheriff's office he had held since 2017.

In a phone interview with Associated Press on Monday Hatchett told: “He so violated me, and at that moment I felt so powerless. I see myself as a strong woman. I have never been a victim, and I felt it was important for there to be accountability.”

An Atlanta attorney, Hatchett starred in the courtroom reality shows The Verdict With Judge Hatchett and Judge Hatchett. She also represented the family of Philando Castile, in a highly publicized lawsuit, where a black driver was shot dead by a Minnesota police officer.

She was introduced to Coody in January 2022 when she attended a meeting of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association as the guest of a retired Georgia sheriff.

Hatchett recalled an incident when she told Coody she wasn’t sure where his home county was located. The sheriff pointed a finger at her chest, she said, and replied: “In the heart of Georgia.” She said he then repeated those words as he grabbed her left breast and began squeezing and rubbing it.

Hatchett said that her host, former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, grabbed Coody’s arm and pulled it away as she froze in shock.

Hatchett said the incident “happened on a Tuesday, and by Thursday morning I could not get out of bed. So I started counselling literally that evening.”

Coody was arrested after she reported the incident.

Hatchett was in the courtroom on Monday, as the judge, Carl Bowers, sentenced Coody to serve one year on probation, pay a $500 fine and perform 400 hours of community service.

Coody sent a resignation letter on Monday morning to Georgia governor Brian Kemp, said his attorney Joel Pugh.

Hatchett said she spoke out and identified herself publicly because many women cannot.

“It’s important that other victims see me holding him accountable,” she said.