Sex assault on girls goes live on social media from Augusta hotel

James Edward Mickens Jr., 42, is facing charges of rape, child molestation, furnishing alcohol to a minor and two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Date: February 05, 2024

A Waynesboro man is facing felony charges after his sexual assault on two juvenile girls at an Augusta hotel was broadcast live on Facebook, authorities said.

Luckily, family members of the girls – ages 14 and 15 – were alerted to Friday night’s livestream and helped rescue the girls from the Quality Inn on Gordon Highway.

James Edward Mickens Jr., 42, is facing charges of rape, child molestation, furnishing alcohol to a minor and two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes. He is also being held for probation and parole, under no bond at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

The girls told authorities that they were at Citi Trends on Friday when they saw Mickens and asked him for a ride home. Instead, the suspect purchased alcohol and rented a room for them. The girls used the bathroom there and came out to find Mickens naked and trying to get them into bed.

At some point, a livestream was started and Mickens is allegedly seen removing the girls clothes and kissing them. He also is accused of raping the 14 year old when she stepped back into the bathroom, authorities said.

When relatives made contact with the hotel, a clerk went to the room, where Mickens answered and observed the suspect naked in the room. That is when the girls ran out of the room.

Deputies were able to take the video as evidence, leading to the sex crime charges against Mickens. He has previous Richmond County charges of drug possession, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime and DUI.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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