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Pierce County school leader accused of molesting children, won't face charges

PIERCE COUNTY, Ga. — A local school leader is accused of molesting children, but he’s still in office and won’t face charges.

Newly released reports name Pierce County Board of Education Chairman Mark Dixon as the suspect.

Investigators say there was enough to arrest him but he will not face charges because of the statute of limitations.

Dixon didn’t say much after Action News reporter Cole Heath knocked on his door, but the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports speak volumes.

We went through the 19 pages of police interviews with Dixon and his accusers. It lays out accusations that Dixon would provide drugs to underage boys then perform sexual acts on them in the early 2000s.

But it wasn’t reported until last summer and Georgia state law says a person can’t be charged if an alleged crime happened more than seven years ago.

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Action News: “Your hands are tied?”

Sheriff Ramsey Bennett: “That’s all we can do by the law, correct."

Bennett and his department received a letter from the District Attorney earlier this month explaining their decision not to charge Dixon.

If it were 10 years ago, Bennett said they would have had enough evidence on Dixon to turn over to a grand jury.

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Sheriff’s investigators say they not only had testimony, but notes written by Dixon to an alleged victim.

One handwritten note said: “I did not realize how much I need someone like you who i can confide in, until now”.

Dixon also asks the alleged victim not to share it and he would prefer the letter is torn up. Despite the accusations, Dixon still sits as chairman for the Pierce County Board of Education.

We spoke with Superintendent Terri DeLoach over the phone about this. She said the district just found out and their hands are legally tied since he wasn’t arrested and they can’t take action since Dixon is an elected official. The district can only ask him to resign.

DeLoach said they’ve suggested to Dixon he resign but haven’t told him to.

Gov. Nathan Deal can’t even do anything because Dixon wasn’t indicted.

So if Dixon doesn’t step down, it’s up to the voters to have a recall election.

Action News asked Dixon if he would resign, but he did not answer that question.