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Vol. 141, No. 7 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, April 7, 2021 - $1.00
Voss indicted on child sex crimes in federal court
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A Waynesboro man has
been indicted in federal court
following a child exploitation
investigation.
William Voss, 38, was ar
rested on May 13, 2020 by
the Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation and Burke County
Sheriff’s Office for sexual
exploitation of children after
the National Center for Miss
ing and Exploited Children
reported that he may have
uploaded child pornography
to a social media app.
Voss has been charged with
possession of child pornog
raphy — a charge that upon
conviction carries a statutory
penalty of up to 20 years in
prison.
He is currently in custody
pending trial following initial
appearance hearings in U.S.
Magistrate Court, said David
H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attor
ney for the Southern District
of Georgia.
“Our law enforcement part
ners will work relentlessly to
protect our most vulnerable
citizens from harm and ex
ploitation,” Estes said. “These
indictments demonstrate the
continued success of those
efforts.”
“It takes great partnerships
from local, state and federal
law enforcement agencies,
non-government organiza
tions, and the public to make
arrests like these,” said Chris
Hacker, Special Agent in
Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The
FBI will always make it a
priority to protect children
who can’t protect themselves
against people who prey on
them.”
“The GBI will continue
to work tirelessly to protect
innocent victims of online
exploitation,” said GBI Di
rector Vic Reynolds. “We are
grateful for the relationships
we maintain with our federal
partner agencies.”
Before this incident, Voss
was already a registered sex
offender. In March 2006, he
was convicted of possession
of child pornography in Flor
ida; he registered in Burke
County on Nov. 27,2006 with
his Hancock Landing Road
address.
William Voss
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
“Someone has honked probably every ten minutes and yelled out
the window that they like it every thirty minutes,” she says from atop
her ladder, grinning as she swipes red paint in one of the smaller
frames. Just a few hours later, that spot has become a replica of the
historic courthouse in Downtown Waynesboro and flanks a brand
new mural in the heart of the city. As passersby marvel at her work,
April Henry King gushes about the small town hospitality.
“Y’all are my people,” she says, explaining why she chose the
courthouse to be part of the mural. “It’s the first thing I noticed
when I came here. The bell was ringing, and I thought, ‘Oh what a
sweet town.’”
The courthouse is inside one of four smaller frames that edge the
large mural, a project commissioned by the City of Waynesboro’s
Downtown Development Authority (DDA) through a Vibrant Com
munities Grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts. The Burke
County Chamber of Commerce also matched the grant through use
of motel tax funds.
The DDA board handpicked King, a well-known, SEE
self-taught artist, to do the job. MURAL
“I knew I wanted the bird dogs to be interactive,”
April Henry King paints a mural at the corner of
Sixth and Liberty streets in Downtown Waynes
boro
Fleming to face the
heat in Burke County
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A storm is brewing as
protesters plan to appeal to
Burke County commissioners
April 13 for State Rep. Barry
Fleming’s resignation as
county attorney.
“I am expecting a massive
turn-out of Burke Countians
and maybe a few other people
who are interested as well,
standing in and around the
courthouse at 5 p.m.,” said
Mike Searles of the Burke
County Voting Project. “It
should be a big to-do.”
Fleming, R-Harlem, is
chairman of the House of
Representatives’ Special
Committee on Election
Integrity.
He cosponsored House Bill
531 which restricts absentee
voting and imposes other new
voting regulations.
The bill “originally banned
early voting on Sundays, but it
was changed following fierce
pushback from Democrats
and the faith community who
called it a direct attack on
Black voters who participated
in "Souls to the Polls" events
after Sunday service,”
according to ABC News.
Governor Brian Kemp
signed HB 531 into law
March 25.
Around the state, people
are up in arms. Fleming was
fired as the Randolph County
attorney last month.The
protests have made national
news.
Fleming also served as
county attorney in Hancock
County, where 71% of the
residents are Black. Residents
will cast ballots through the
end of the year under a court-
appointed examiner after the
county election board was
accused in a federal lawsuit
of unfairly removing voters
— most of them Black — from
the rolls, according to a CNN
report March 19.
After protests, the Hancock
commissioners
unanimously
opted to ask FLEMING
Fleming to 6A
April 8, with the Masters Night Out event. Liberty Street
will be closed from 5-9 p.m. There will be food, drinks,
shopping, The Masters on the big screen and a putting
green for the public to test out. The event is sponsored
by the Downtown Development Authority.
Superior Court prepares to handle backlog of cases
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
As the number of CO-
VID-19 cases decreases and
government officials lift re
strictions, the courts face a
backlog of cases.
The Administrative Office
of the Courts, Judicial Coun
cil and county-level Superior
Courts oversaw trial-related
COVID-19 restrictions and
determined necessary poli
cies.
As part of the process, each
court was required to create
their COVID-19 mitigation
plan which addressed how
legal proceedings would be
handled during the pandemic.
The Augusta Judicial Cir
cuit Jury Trial Plan signed
October 2020 stated Burke
County had the capacity to
hold two jury trials per ses
sion of court during the height
of the pandemic.
“The specifics of how
pandemic-delayed cases are
heard (and) scheduled are de
termined by the Court venue
where it is taking place and
any overarching guidelines
from the Judicial Council
of Georgia in the State of
Judicial Emergency Orders,”
said Thomas O’Connor, com
munications director for the
Georgia Public Defender
Council.
Along with state guidance,
as the number of COVID-19
cases decreases, each court
decides when and if in-person
proceedings can occur.
Georgia Supreme Court
Chief Justice Harold D.
Melton issued an order March
9 that lifted the suspension of
jury trials in Georgia, “effec
tive immediately.”
Courts may resume jury tri
als “if that can be done safely
and in accordance with a final
jury trial plan developed in
collaboration with the local
committee of judicial system
participants and incorporated
into the court’s written operat
ing guidelines for in-person
proceedings,” the order said.
Court officials must now
contend with a backlog of
cases.
“In general, judicial circuits
are now carrying more open
cases with serious charges
compared to pre-pandemic
years,” O’Connor said in
an email March 31. “Such
cases are the most time (and)
resource-intensive, less likely
to reach a plea agreement and
typically involve a jury trial.
The temporary suspension of
jury trials delayed them.”
The Augusta Judicial
protocol for reopening the
courthouses to normal court
operations in
cludes an ac- SEE
knowledgment BACKLOG
that “justice 6A
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