Gary Cox testified in his own defense Oct. 1. Hours later, jurors found him guilty of all charges against him and Cox now faces up to 40 years in prison. (Photo by R.O. Youngblood)
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Oct 08, 2004  |  By: LAURA DOUGLAS-BROWN  | COMMENTS |   |  

Gary Cox, former deputy chief operating officer for the city of Atlanta, could face up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 11 on charges related to picking up a 16-year-old male from a Greyhound bus terminal and offering him $100 for oral sex.

A Fulton County Superior Court jury deliberated for about an hour Oct. 1 before finding Cox guilty of felony charges of pandering and solicitation of sodomy and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery for touching the young man’s groin during the August 2003 incident.

Cox, who was Mayor Shirley Franklin’s highest ranking gay appointee before he was placed on unpaid leave shortly before his arrest, remains free on bond until his sentencing. He declined comment after the verdict.

Franklin fired Cox after the verdict.

In response to written questions from Southern Voice, the mayor said she “is saddened for both families,” but she believes her administration “will be judged in the totality of its accomplishments and not on any one individual matter.”

Under Georgia law, the pandering and solicitation charges — both elevated to felony status because they involve someone under the age of 18 — carry prison sentences of five to 20 years. The solicitation charge, a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to a year in prison.

At a press conference after the verdict, the young man’s mother, Christine Edmonds, said she hoped Cox would be forced to serve at least five years in prison. Greg Martin, the teen, said he hoped Cox would also have to undergo counseling.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said his office would ask that Cox be sentenced to some period of incarceration, but he declined to say how long.

Steve Sadow, Cox’s attorney, said he would request that his client receive probation.

Georgia law leaves most sentences to the discretion of judges, according to Kevin Jon Heller, a University of Georgia law professor and former criminal defense attorney.

Heller said he believes Cox will most likely be sentenced in the lower end of the time range allowed for the felony counts, probably receiving one to five years in prison, followed by “a significant period” of probation.

“Given that there were two felony counts, given that it is a sexual offense, and particularly given the fact that it was against a minor, I think it is extremely unlikely that [Cox’s sentence] would not involve jail time,” Heller said.

Past arrest could factor in sentence
In 1991, Cox pleaded no contest to a charge of solicitation of sodomy after allegedly propositioning an undercover Department of Transportation worker at a Gwinnett County rest stop.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge John Goger barred the past arrest from Cox’s recent trial after Cox’s attorney argued that the alleged conduct — involving two adult men sitting in a car discussing sex with no offer of payment — would not be considered illegal today.

In a 1998 case brought by Sadow, the Georgia Supreme struck down the state’s sodomy law as applied to private, consensual, noncommercial acts.

Howard, the district attorney, said the 1991 incident would be used in Cox’s sentencing to show he is not a “first offender.”

But Heller, the law professor, said the judge may be unlikely to consider the past incident.

“The fact that the judge wouldn’t allow it to be used at trial makes it extremely unlikely he would allow it to be used for sentencing,” Heller said.

Howard also said the previous arrest played a role in his office’s rejection of plea overtures from Cox the day before the verdict.

Cox’s attorneys did not discuss a specific charge to which Cox would be willing to plead guilty, but asked about the possibility of a plea that would not include jail time, Howard said.

‘You messed up by choosing me’
In court Oct. 1, Cox sat almost motionless as the jury of nine men and three women was polled on their verdict of guilty on all counts. Martin dropped his head into his hands and broke down in tears as the first verdict was read.

Allowed to address the court immediately after the verdict, the teen’s mother, Edmonds, tearfully recounted changes in her son’s behavior and their relationship that she said were “all caused by Gary Cox’s perversity.”

Martin directed his comments to Cox.

“You messed up by choosing me, ...