The owner of a CrossFit gym in Evans, who is charged with having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl he coached, was denied bond on Thursday morning.
The hearing, which took place at the Columbia County Justice Center, included new details on the case, as well as pleas to the judge from the girl’s mother and father, who say they are living in a nightmare they can’t wake up from.
Judge Sheryl B. Jolly said bond was not appropriate in this case as there is a possibility suspect Scott Paige may try to intimidate witnesses or flee the jurisdiction.
Paige, 36, admitted in January to his wife that the teenaged girl and he had kissed and engaged in oral sex, prosecutors said. He told his wife that he would end the relationship to work on their marriage, but she found out on April 27 that it had continued.
Scott trained both the teen girl and her father at Bare CrossFit, a gym that he owned with his wife. He also befriended the girl’s family.
On April 27, his wife came home early and saw two used pregnancy test strips on the counter along with food from Panda Express and a pink stuffed animal, prosecutors said. Scott prevented her from entering the bedroom where the girl was, and his wife responded by telling him she would leave and that he had ten minutes to get out of the house.
His wife stopped by Panda Express and confirmed with the manager by showing a picture that Scott and the girl had come by the restaurant together.
The relationship is thought to have started in November 2022 but may go back further, according to electronic records.
Texts show the two talking about oral sex, the girl losing her virginity and whether she would consider other forms of sex. Scott also asked the girl for nude photos, though none have been found.
They exchanged 1,403 videos with each other on an app called Marco Polo, prosecutors said.
Evidence showed that Scott wrote in his Apple Notes app about certain memories with the girl, including when she lost her virginity at the gym.
The girl’s mother spoke in court, saying Scott had stolen so much with his “methodical, diabolical behavior.”
“He’s stolen my little girl’s innocence, her virginity, her independent nature, her identity as an athlete [and] the opportunity to thoughtfully share herself with the appropriate partner,” she said.
The mother went on to say that Scott’s behavior had destroyed their families.
“You’ve ruined four loving parents with the end game of raping my baby,” she said.
If Scott were released on bond, the sense of safety and peace they had regained since he was locked up would be taken, she told the judge. If he is free to reach her daughter through electronic means in any way, then “we have failed her twice,” she said.
The girl’s father also spoke at the hearing, saying words could barely capture the “ferocity” of the impact this case has had on the family. He said that his daughter began therapy last Friday but was still “completely emerged in the grooming.”
“Every single day we have to figure out new ways to deal with her and love her and how to maintain some kind of curriculum and therapeutic alliance with her and desperately hoping not to push her away or initiate any thoughts of self-harm or unhealthy self-soothing,” he said.
Her passions have been muted and her peer support system has been cut off due to Scott isolating her, he said.
Scott had “masterfully manipulated” his wife, children, employer, the city, friends, his church and business associates, the father said. He asked for the judge to deny the bond to protect the sense of peace the family had gained in the past month.
“A 15-year-old can try to put her life back together after her innocence was robbed from her after her childhood was abruptly and violently stolen from her, and she had to deal with the trauma associated with the fear that she might possibly be pregnant while clutching a stuffed animal,” he said.
A letter Scott had written to the girl was read aloud in court, with Scott writing, “You make me feel amazing inside” and “Thanks for being vulnerable with me.” He also told her to “please leave a trail for this hypothetical runaway attempt.”
Defense attorney Pete Theodocion told the judge that the defendant has been married for 15 years but his wife has now filed for divorce. They have three children together, who are ages 11, 9 and 7.
He told the judge that Scott had been in the U.S. National Guard for 20 years and served the country as a cyber analyst for the U.S. Department of Education. He also pointed out that Scott had no criminal history and that the girl was just under the 16-year-old child molestation limit in Georgia.
The attorney also told the judge that after April 27, there was a five-day period before Scott was arrested during which he hired legal representation to deal with the case and his divorce rather than running away. He also never contacted the victim, he said.
If he were let out on bond, he would live with his father, a disabled Vietnam veteran.
The attorney argued that Scott’s actions showed he wanted to go through the process as a responsible adult and realized he had a long road ahead.
