A Richmond County jury deliberated about a day before finding a Hephzibah man guilty of the aggravated child molestation of a 12-year-old he met online.
Kendrick Dante Evans, 39, has been in jail without bond since his October 2021 arrest.
Chief Superior Court Judge Danny Craig sentenced Evans to two life sentences Friday. He’ll be eligible for parole in 30 years.
During deliberations, the jury asked the court to replay a telling phone call Evans made to his mother from the jail.
“You’ve got that damn Evans gene,” his mother said. “Your daddy did it. Your uncle did it… All women you could have. Why you going to mess with a 12-year-old?”
His mother said in the recorded call that Evans had brought the girl to her house and even dropped her off at middle school.
“I should have known better,” Evans said.
Augusta Circuit Assistant District Attorney of the Special Victims’ Unit, William Hammond, requested the life sentences, the maximum for aggravated child molestation.
He said Evans took advantage of a 12-year-old who had no father in the home. Life will send a message to other child molesters in the community.
“If you mess with children, you will be held accountable,” Hammond said.
Attorney Lucy Bell, who represented Evans, said he had no prior sexual felonies.
Evans declined to speak after the verdict, but took the stand on his own behalf during the trial.
He denied having physical contact with the girl, despite her ability to describe his nipple piercings and other intimate details. They had chatted on TikTok, Hammond said.
“You saw she was a petite person?” he asked Evans on the stand.
Evans had removed the nipple rings in the bathroom during a police interview, witnesses said.
Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams has called a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the courthouse to address the work of the DA’s Major Crimes Division, including the Special Victims Unit.
