A 92-year-old convicted child molester who was released from prison just two weeks ago was found dead Monday morning in a homeless camp behind a building on Mike Padgett Highway, officials confirmed.
Ervin Ray Turner, a sex offender and longtime Augusta resident, was pronounced dead at 10:14 a.m. Monday behind 3439 Mike Padgett Highway, where he had been living in the woods, according to the Richmond County Coroner’s Office. The address for the office is listed as the Department of Community Supervision-Augusta Office.
Turner had been released from Lee State Prison on July 16 after serving 10 years of a 20-year sentence for aggravated child molestation, according to state prison records. He made the journey 200 miles back to Augusta. He was homeless upon his release and appears to have set up camp in a wooded area during a period of extreme heat.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined an autopsy, and the cause of death was determined to be natural causes.
Turner’s conviction stemmed from a 2015 incident in Hephzibah, where a deputy caught him in a truck with a nude 14-year-old girl in a secluded wooded lot. The responding deputy’s report stated that Turner – wearing only underwear and loafers – was performing oral sex on the girl when confronted. Turner reportedly told the deputy, “Come on man, we didn’t have sex, I only kissed it a little,” and pleaded for leniency, citing 30 years of military service.
Authorities initially suspected the victim might be related to Turner, but later confirmed there was no familial connection. A woman on Lace Road had called police after noticing Turner’s suspicious truck in the area.
Officials have not indicated how long Turner had been staying in the homeless camp before his death. But the coroner said he may have been dead for a day or two. He was not listed on the Richmond County Registered Sex Offender list, despite his conviction.
