By Al Hackle
Special for the Herald
A criminal case in which Effingham County Commissioner Reggie Loper is accused of child molestation and misdemeanor sexual battery is still pending in Effingham County Superior Court under the arrest warrants from May 2023 but has not been presented to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Checking the status of the case Jan. 10, the Statesboro Herald learned from District Attorney Daphne Totten of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit that she had in effect recused herself and her office from prosecuting the case soon after Loper was arrested by the GBI on May 17, 2023. The case was then reassigned to the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
“We contacted the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, who handles conflict assignments when there is a conflict declared by a district attorney’s office, and then they reassign the case to another district attorney’s office,” Totten said. “So, we conflicted the case and the case was reassigned to the Augusta Judicial Circuit.”
This means that a prosecutor from the Augusta Circuit will present the case, but it would still be heard in the Ogeechee Circuit, and specifically in Effingham County Superior Court.
The Ogeechee Circuit also includes Bulloch, Jenkins and Screven counties. The D.A.’s office receives a portion of its funding from the county governments.
The case “involves another elected official that our office has contact with,” Totten said. “That was the nature of our conflict.”
Reginald S. Loper, 85 years old this month, has served on the Effingham County Board of Commissioners for about 20 years and represents District 4. His current term lasts through December 2024.
GBI investigation
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation news release last May 17 stated that the agency had arrested Loper, who is from Springfield, on a charge of child molestation, which is a felony charge, and a charge of misdemeanor sexual battery. He was booked into the Effingham County Jail, but posted bond and was released that same day.
A teenager had alleged that Loper sexually assaulted her multiple times over a five-year period that began when she was 12 years old and continued until around August 2022, Savannah TV station WTOC reported last year.
As of Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, the “Web Case Search” function of the Effingham County Clerk of Courts website showed no new filings in the case since May 22, 2023, when the arrest warrant and bond document were filed. The notations for these indicated “image not web accessible” for the actual documents.
When the Statesboro Herald had phoned the clerk’s office, senior clerk Misty Williams noted that the case was “still an active warrant case” but that there had been no indictment at this point.
The case is assigned to Superior Court Judge Lovett Bennett. The Effingham Clerk of Courts website still listed an Ogeechee Circuit assistant district attorney, Matthew Breeden, as the prosecutor, but a receptionist at the D.A.’s Springfield office relayed Breeden’s reply to call Totten, whose main office is in Statesboro.
March grand jury?
Totten said she had received some indication “really more hearsay” than direct, that the Augusta Circuit prosecutor may present the case to the next regularly scheduled Effingham County grand jury, which will convene in March.
“Somebody from their office called to inquire when our next grand jury session was,” Totten said.
As with other cases, the grand jury’s role would be to decide whether there is enough evidence to send the charges forward to trial. After prosecutors present evidence, the grand jury would issue either an indictment, which is a finding by a majority of jurors that the evidence meets the standard of probable cause, or a “no bill.”
Augusta Circuit Assistant D.A. Justin Mullis was assigned the case, Totten said.
A receptionist in the Augusta Judicial Circuit D.A.’s Office said a request to speak to Mullis would have to go to District Attorney Jared T. Williams for permission. No response had been received by the end of the workday Jan. 10.
Previous background
The GBI had launched its investigation into allegations regarding Loper after a Jan. 9, 2023 request by the Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie, who recused himself from the case.
The investigation reportedly grew out of a civil proceeding in which a woman petitioned under the Family Violence Act for a protective order against Loper on behalf of her minor child.
Judge F. Gates Peed of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit issued a Jan. 5, 2023, temporary order that Loper had to stay away from the alleged victim and her residence, workplace or school and not be within 500 yards of her. The protective order also prohibited any direct or indirect contact between him and the alleged victim and required that any firearms to which Loper had access be held by the Sheriff’s Office for safekeeping.
However, the temporary protective order in the civil proceeding was dismissed on Feb. 24, 2023.
A call Wednesday to Loper’s phone number as listed on the Effingham County Board of Commissioners website went unanswered, with no means provided to leave a message. An email to his county-listed address requesting comment or the name and number of his defense attorney had not resulted in a reply as of noon Jan. 11.
According to Commission meeting minutes posted on the Effingham County Commission website, Loper has attended meetings from Aug. 1 through Nov. 21, 2023 (the latest meeting with approved minutes listed); however, he did not attend the Dec. 4, 2023 workshop regarding LGBTQ materials at the Live Oak Public Libraries. He did not attend Commission meetings from May 2 through July 18, 2023.
