10 Georgia sheriffs including, MCSO’s Countryman condemn legal action against TV judge Glenda Hatchett

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — 10 Georgia sheriffs, including Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman, are condemning an effort by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association to recover attorney fees in a civil complaint brought by TV Judge Glenda Hatchett.

MCSO issued a statement on Friday addressing the matter.

Back in 2021, Hatchett sued the Georgia Sheriffs Association and former Bleckley County Sheriff Kris Coody after Coody groped Hatchett during a Georgia Sheriffs Association conference.

Eventually, Coody pleaded guilty to charges of sexual battery in 2022 and was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined $500. He also resigned as Sheriff for Bleckley County.

Her case was filed in Cobb County, but then moved to Morgan County back in May of 2024 and eventually withdrew her complaint back in June.

Morgan County Judge Terry Massey then issued an order awarding attorney fees to the defendants.

In a letter that was sent on Wednesday to the executive board of the Sheriffs’ Association and Executive Director Terry Norris, the 10 sheriffs said that they believe the decision to pursue financial penalties from a victim is “not only harmful but incompatible with the values law enforcement leaders are called to uphold,” according to MCSO’s press release.

The letter also criticizes the “legal strategy for the potential of re-traumatizing a survivor, while simultaneously deterring others from coming forward, especially in cases involving law enforcement officers.”

“Seeking attorneys’ fees from a victim of sexual assault – particularly in a case where the offender was one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers of the state – undermines the moral compass our organization purports to uphold: justice, accountability, and support for the vulnerable,” the Sheriffs wrote.

The sheriffs are urging the Sheriffs’ Association to withdraw the claim for attorney fees and to issue a public reaffirmation of its support for victims of sexual violence, writing that “This is not simply a legal matter — it is a moral one.

A hearing on the order is set for Monday, Aug. 18 at 9 a.m., in Morgan County Superior Court.