Three sentenced for Berrien sex crimes

Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, March 19, 2019

NASHVILLE — Three men were sentenced to prison last week on sex crime charges in Berrien County, according to the district attorney’s office.

Eric Dwight Brown, 33, pleaded guilty to sodomy and received 25 years with the first 10 years to be served in prison, according to a statement from the office of Alapaha District Attorney Dick Perryman.

William Cody Hodge, 34, pleaded guilty to child molestation and received 20 years with the first five years to be served in prison, while Charles David Bryant, 48, pleaded guilty to child molestation and received 20 years with the first six years to be served in prison, according to the DA statement.

In addition, once released from prison, each man will be subject to a curfew and sex offender conditions of probation, which includes no contact with children, polygraph examinations and registration on the state sex offender registry, according to the statement.

All of the men will be prohibited from contacting their victims or the victim’s families as part of their sentences and will be subject to search by law enforcement at any time, Perryman’s statement said. Hodge is also banished from the Alapaha Judicial Circuit for his entire sentence, according to the statement.

“I am proud that these men are being held accountable for their actions and they will spend years in prison to pay for what they have done to these children. It has been and continues to be a priority for my office to protect our kids from those that would harm them. The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office and the Nashville Police Department did excellent work in investigating these cases. I am proud of my staff for all their hard work and must commend (assistant district attorney) Jennifer Smith for all her efforts. It is crucial that we continue to pursue and prosecute these cases for the benefit of our community and the safety of our children,” Perryman said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.