>>> Tried on five counts <<< >>> Acquitted on two counts <<< >>> To be retried on the other three counts <<< Thomas Ary, 59, instructor at Pak's Karate, Kingsland, Georgia, "arrested twice in two weeks for child molestation" State presents molestation case against karate teacher Surprising testimony from an alleged victim during the trial of Thomas Ary, a former karate instructor accused of child molestation, caused attorneys to scramble overnight Tuesday to find a potential third victim. Victim No. 1, now 10 years old, testified that Ary touched her inappropriately with his hand while they, along with other students of Pak's Karate in Kingsland, watched movies in a darkened room during summer camp at the facility. She said the abuse occurred once in 2012 and twice in 2013; the third time, she said, Ary touched her clothed genital area with his clothed genital area while the two were alone in a bathroom at Pak's. ... Both the victim and her mother, who testified earlier in the day, said she first disclosed the information after her mother began speaking with her about a registered sex offender who had recently moved to the neighborhood. The mother testified that, when she asked the victim directly whether anyone had ever touched her inappropriately, the girl began crying and said yes, later naming Ary as the offender. On the stand Tuesday, however, the victim testified that she initially told a friend at the karate school about the abuse and that the friend said she had also been abused by Ary. When Gropper asked the victim whether that was the first time she had told anyone that, the victim said yes. Continue reading... http://tribune-georgian.com/view/fu...n-case-against-karate-teacher?instance=viewed Tags:
Background: Man arrested again on child molestation charges 4 Nov 2013 A man has been arrested twice in two weeks for child molestation. According to a Camden County Sheriff's Office release, the Nassau County Sheriff's office and U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force arrested Thomas Ary Monday. Ary, 59, was previously arrested on October 25 on one count of molestation and was later indicted by a Camden County Grand Jury on five counts. He made bond on Oct. 27. Ary is held at the Camden County Jail and faces five additional counts of child molestation. http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2014/01/18/4626461/
Background: GA karate instructor charged with child molestation located in Nassau County 4 Nov 2013 59-year-old Thomas Ary bonded out of jail on the first charge. Today, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office got a tip Ary might be in the area ... Leeper says they found Ary at a RV Park in the northern part of the county where he was living with his girlfriend. He was arrested on the five new charges of child molestation and awaits extradition back to Camden County. http://www.wokv.com/news/news/local/ga-man-charged-child-molestation-located-nassau-co/nbhRN/
Background: Accused Child Molester Arrested Again, Faces More Charges 4 Nov 2013 As if he isn't already in enough trouble, a Woodbine man is back in jail again on child molestation charges. Deputies in Nassau County, Florida took 59-year-old Thomas Ary into custody Monday afternoon. It's Ary's second arrest in the last two weeks. Last week, a Camden County, Georgia Grand Jury formally charged Ary on five counts of child molestation. http://www.wsav.com/story/23872897/accused-child-molester-arrested-again-faces-more-charges
Background: Karate instructor charged with child molestation 24 Dec 2013 A Camden County karate instructor has been charged with one count of child molestation. Thomas Ary, 59, a karate instructor at Pak's Karate Academy at their Kingsland location, is now in custody at the Camden County Jail. http://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia-news/karate-instructor-charged-with-child-molestation/22642140
Background: Karate school owner accused of long pattern of child molestation 7 Mar 2014 Six former students of Pak’s Karate Studio in Kingsland, Ga., told a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent that owner Craig Peeples molested them, District Attorney Jackie Johnson said in a letter to the GBI. But because the last reported incident occurred in 1996, the statute of limitations has expired and her office cannot take the GBI’s findings before a grand jury for a possible indictment, Johnson said in her letter to Mike McDaniel, special agent in charge of the GBI’s Kingsland office. Based on witness interviews, GBI Special Agent Lindsey Smith’s investigation resulted in evidence of multiple acts of sodomy, aggravated sodomy, child molestation, aggravated child molestation and sexual batteries occurred with students at Pak’s Karate beginning in 1988 and continuing until 2001, Johnson wrote. http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/...-owner-accused-long-pattern-child-molestation
Feds search Kingsland karate school 11 Sept 2014 Another Pak's instructor, Thomas Ary, was acquitted in June on two of five original charges of child molestation brought in October 2013. Superior Court Judge Roger Lane declared a mistrial on the remaining three charges, and the district attorney's office later decided to re-try Ary on those three. That trial was supposed to start this week but is now being delayed while the Court of Appeals of Georgia considers an evidentiary matter in the case. Ary is charged with touching a young female victim inappropriately on two occasions, both of which allegedly occurred at Pak's Karate, located on U.S. Highway 17 north of Kingsland. http://www.tribune-georgian.com/vie...ngsland-karate-school?instance=main_image_top