Unofficial information released, not authorized by Clayton County officials

A news release that was not authorized by either the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office or the Clayton County Attorney’s Office, was circulated recently about a case involving David Allen Pennington, Jr., a criminal defendant who received a five-year prison sentence.

“We felt this news story was sensationalized and misleading and that it was important for us to respond,” Sheriff Mike Tschirgi and Attorney Alan Heavens said in a statement.

First, as the official press release from the county attorney’s office said, the defendant was convicted of enticing a minor under the age of 16, not sexual abuse as the unofficial press story stated. Ultimately, the crime involved sexual contact between the defendant and the victim, who were both carnival workers. This was illegal because the defendant was 27 years old and the victim was 14.

 
The unofficial news release also appeared to emphasize that the incident occurred at the Clayton County Fair.

“While this is true, we want to unequivocally state that the Clayton County Fair is one of the safest public places in the county,” the statement said. “As anyone who has been to our fair knows, there is a strong law enforcement presence at all times with at least two and as many as seven sheriff’s deputies on the fairgrounds at all times. These deputies have procedures to follow in the event of a tragic event, weather, missing child, etc. Unfortunately, as the Pennington case shows, crime can and does happen in any place but, when it happens at the county fair, unlike many other places, law enforcement is literally only seconds away.   

Both offices remain committed to keeping the public accurately informed about Clayton County cases.