A 17-year-old resident of Joseph's Home for Boys was jailed last week on child molestation charges after investigators determined he sexually assaulted another resident, sheriff's officials said.
Nathaniel Tyler III, 17, was charged with aggravated child molestation, sodomy/aggravated sodomy and enticing a child for indecent purposes, according to Bulloch County Jail records.
Tyler "was living at Joseph's Home for Boys" as was the preteen male victim, said Bulloch County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Gene McDaniel.
"We had a report from the (boys' home) staff, a detective investigated, and determined (Tyler) had assaulted" the victim, he said.
While the incident was reported Thursday, the molestation allegedly occurred about "a month before the report," he said.
Ray McKinney, past chairman and current member of the board for Joseph's Home for Boys, said the boys' home staff followed proper procedure regarding reporting the incident. McKinney also said he's confident efforts are taken to follow policies to prevent such incidents.
"I know the staff makes every effort, and we have a lot of policies in place regarding the boys being alone and chaperoning," he said. "The staff is trained and conditioned in ways to detect and prevent situations like this."
Neither he or McDaniel divulged specific details regarding the incident.
"I do still have utmost confidence in (the staff)," McKinney said Monday. "All the proper procedures were followed" after the staff learned of the incident, he said.
"I firmly believe the boys are in good hands," he said. "Safe and secure. The alleged incident is unfortunate, but people need to know the boys are well taken care of."
Tyler was taken into custody, charged and placed in the Bulloch County Jail, where he remains without bond until a hearing, McDaniel said.
Tyler has no previous adult record except one incident filed "regarding a behavioral issue," he said.