Georgia · Paulding County · Crime & Courts
Bobby Lee Hart Jr., Paulding County GA: Rape and False Imprisonment Charges Announced
The Paulding County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest and said investigators have identified victims in three counties. He is being held without bond at the Cobb County Jail. A news conference set for Monday was called off and rescheduled. He is charged, not convicted.
Key facts
- Who
- Bobby Lee Hart Jr., 53, per WJCL, carrying a CBS News Atlanta report
- Announced by
- Paulding County Sheriff's Office
- Charges
- Felony assault, false imprisonment and rape, per WJCL
- Held
- Cobb County Jail, without bond — jail records show a hold placed by Douglas County
- Counties named
- Paulding, Douglas and Cobb
- Prosecutor
- Paulding County District Attorney Robert Lane
- Announcement
- A joint news conference set for Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 was called off and rescheduled
- Status
- Accused. A charge is not a conviction, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty
- What did the Paulding County Sheriff's Office announce?
- What is Bobby Lee Hart Jr. charged with, and where is he held?
- How long a period do investigators describe?
- Which counties and agencies are involved?
- Why was the Paulding County news conference called off?
- What has already happened in Douglas and Cobb counties?
- Who should people call if they believe they were a victim?
- What does it mean that he is charged and not convicted?
- What we don't know yet
- Frequently asked questions
What did the Paulding County Sheriff's Office announce?
A third Georgia county has entered a sexual assault case that already runs through two others.
WJCL, carrying a report by CBS News Atlanta, reported that the Paulding County Sheriff's Office said it had taken Bobby Lee Hart Jr., 53, into custody. A spokesperson for the agency said investigators believe Hart sexually assaulted multiple women, and that more people may have been assaulted, including outside these counties.
WSB-TV reported from Paulding County that deputies there say Hart attacked a woman in the county, and that he now faces charges in a third county.
He has been accused, not convicted. No evidence in the Paulding County matter has been tested at trial.
What is Bobby Lee Hart Jr. charged with, and where is he held?
WJCL reported the charges as felony assault, false imprisonment and rape, and reported that he is being held without bond.
He is in custody at the Cobb County Jail, according to that report, and jail records show a hold placed by Douglas County. WSB-TV likewise placed him in jail in Cobb County.
How long a period do investigators describe?
The two accounts do not line up.
The Paulding County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said investigators believe the assaults took place over nearly two decades, WJCL reported.
WSB-TV wrote that police say at least eight women were assaulted over a span of more than 30 years across two counties, and that Paulding County is now a third.
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Which counties and agencies are involved?
Three counties have been named so far. WJCL reported that investigators have identified victims in Paulding, Douglas and Cobb counties, and that they believe there may be more elsewhere.
The news conference the sheriff's office had scheduled was billed as a joint appearance by the Paulding County Sheriff's Office, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Paulding County District Attorney Robert Lane, according to WJCL. The agency said it would release photographs and additional information there.
These are separate offices with separate cases. A district attorney prosecutes; a sheriff's office investigates and runs the jail. Georgia sheriffs, city police departments and district attorneys are not interchangeable, and each county's charges move through that county's superior court.
Why was the Paulding County news conference called off?
Scheduling. A sheriff's office spokesperson said the event was canceled because Hiram Police Chief Joshua Lonergan had a conflict, WJCL reported, and the agency passed that word along on Monday afternoon.
WSB-TV reported that prosecutors were prepared to give details on the newest case and had to reschedule suddenly because a police chief was not available. That report put the rescheduled news conference on Wednesday.
Lane and Lonergan did not return calls from CBS News Atlanta.
What has already happened in Douglas and Cobb counties?
The case did not start in Paulding County. WSB-TV reported that Douglas County District Attorney Dalia Racine announced Hart had been arrested in 2025.
Racine said at the time, in words WSB-TV quoted, "Hart is a suspect in multiple sexual assaults dating back to the early 1990s in the west Georgia region."
A Douglas County grand jury later indicted Hart in seven assaults, WSB-TV reported, and a grand jury in Cobb County then indicted him in another. Paulding County is the newest of the three.
WSB-TV also reported that its reporter contacted an attorney for Hart and was still waiting to hear back.
Who should people call if they believe they were a victim?
Anyone who thinks Hart may have assaulted them was asked to contact the victim advocate at the Paulding County District Attorney's Office, 770-443-7561, WJCL reported.
The same report gives the Family Violence Crisis Hotline and Emergency Shelter number as 770-479-1703.
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What does it mean that he is charged and not convicted?
A charge is an accusation. An indictment returned by a grand jury is a charging decision, not a verdict, and it carries no finding about guilt.
Hart is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The Paulding County counts have not been tried, and the Douglas County and Cobb County indictments are accusations awaiting their own proceedings.
What we don't know yet
- The date the Paulding County charges were filed, and the date of the Paulding County arrest
- Whether the Paulding County charges have gone before a grand jury
- Whether he has entered a plea in Paulding County, and when he is due in court there
- The name of the attorney representing him
- Which agency conducted the Paulding County investigation, and what role the Hiram Police Department has in it
- Whether the rescheduled news conference will produce additional charges or additional counties
Frequently asked questions
Who is Bobby Lee Hart Jr.?
A 53-year-old Georgia man taken into custody by the Paulding County Sheriff's Office, WJCL reported, carrying a CBS News Atlanta report. WSB-TV identified him by the same name in its coverage of the Paulding County announcement.
What is Bobby Lee Hart Jr. charged with in Paulding County?
Felony assault, false imprisonment and rape, WJCL reported, carrying a CBS News Atlanta report.
Has Bobby Lee Hart Jr. been convicted of anything?
No. A charge is an accusation, and an indictment is a charging decision by a grand jury. Neither is a finding of guilt, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Where is he being held?
At the Cobb County Jail, without bond, WJCL reported. Douglas County has placed a hold on him, according to jail records. WSB-TV also reported that he is in jail in Cobb County.
Which counties are involved?
Investigators have identified victims in Paulding, Douglas and Cobb counties so far, WJCL reported, and said more people may have been assaulted, including outside these counties. WSB-TV described Paulding County as a third county in the case.
How long a period do investigators describe?
The two accounts differ. A Paulding County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said investigators believe the assaults took place over nearly two decades, WJCL reported. WSB-TV wrote that police say at least eight women were assaulted over a span of more than 30 years in two counties.
Why was the Paulding County news conference called off?
A Paulding County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said it was canceled because Hiram Police Chief Joshua Lonergan had a scheduling conflict, WJCL reported. WSB-TV reported that prosecutors rescheduled because a police chief was not available, and that the news conference is now set for Wednesday.
What has already happened in Douglas and Cobb counties?
WSB-TV reported that Douglas County District Attorney Dalia Racine announced Hart had been arrested in 2025, that he was later indicted by a Douglas County grand jury in seven assaults, and that a Cobb County grand jury then indicted him in another.
Does he have an attorney?
WSB-TV reported that its reporter contacted an attorney for Hart and had not heard back.
Who should someone call who believes they were a victim?
Anyone who thinks Hart may have assaulted them was asked to contact the victim advocate at the Paulding County District Attorney's Office, 770-443-7561, WJCL reported. That report also gives 770-479-1703 for the Family Violence Crisis Hotline and Emergency Shelter.
Sources
Compiled by The Local Alert Georgia Staff from the named news outlets linked above. The Local Alert is not a law enforcement agency and not a law firm. Anyone named in connection with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. No one identified as a victim is named, described or located here, and the alleged conduct is not described. Corrections and removal requests: see our corrections policy.
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