WOODBINE, Ga. – A South Georgia man is facing a felony count of child molestation after Camden County deputies found him without pants inside a car with a teenage girl, according to an arrest warrant
Justin E. Thornton, 21, of Hortense, was booked Monday afternoon into the Camden County jail.
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According to the arrest warrant, the case against Thornton began just after midnight April 21 when deputies spotted a suspicious vehicle parked on the side of Highway 110.
Deputies said they found Thornton inside the vehicle with a 14-year-old girl and that he was not wearing any pants.
Both Thornton and the girl told deputies there was no sexual contact, the warrant said.
The girl was released to her parents and Thornton was also allowed to leave.
According to the warrant, the girl was interviewed two days later and told investigators that she and Thornton kissed the night they were in the car together. The warrant also states the girl told investigators Thornton was not wearing pants because he spilled tea on them.
A detective received permission to search the girl’s cellphone for text messages but the detective didn’t find any between the girl and Thornton. According to the warrant, the detective suspected text messages between the two were deleted.
The warrant said the detective did find a folder labeled “Justin” and that folder contained 105 pictures of Thornton.
According to the warrant, two days after the girl was interviewed by a detective, Thornton came down to the Camden County Sheriff’s Office Substation to be interviewed.
A detective noted in the warrant that during the interview, Thornton explained that he knew the girl and her mother from church. During the interview, Thornton also admitted that he and the girl kissed numerous times and that on the night they were discovered inside the car, her shirt was may have been up because his hands were around her back.
The warrant also states the two had discussed dating when she turns 18.
The investigator obtained footage from a deputy’s patrol car that showed video of Thornton putting his shirt back on prior to a deputy walking up to his car, according to the warrant.
Thornton’s bond was set at $11,700.