Former Bibb firefighter acquitted in child molestation case

A Bibb County firefighter who resigned months after his arrest on a child molestation charge in 2012 was acquitted by jurors Thursday.

Jurors deliberated for a little less than an hour before returning their verdict.

Jerald Lavel Giles, 45, was charged with aggravated sexual battery and child molestation stemming from his alleged interaction with a then-3-year-old girl. His trial began Monday in Bibb County Superior Court.

Giles was placed on administrative leave without pay soon after his June 2012 arrest.

The girl's mother called police after her daughter became shy while taking a bath.

The girl later told authorities Giles had inappropriately touched her genitals, prosecutor Kevin Ströberg told jurors in his closing argument Thursday.

Giles' lawyer, Mark Beberman, argued that Giles "scooped" the girl up with his hand while caring for her and he denies any sexual context to the touching, which he said was accidental.

Beberman pointed to inconsistencies in the girl's statements to authorities and her testimony as reasons for jurors to find reasonable doubt that Giles committed a crime. The girl, now 7, testified during the trial.

Ströberg urged jurors to consider prosecutors argument that the molestation included more instances than just the alleged "scooping" and that Giles initially denied ever being alone with the girl or touching her.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Former Bibb firefighter acquitted in child molestation case ."