Chatsworth man convicted of aggravated child molestation, sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole

Published 4:01 pm Monday, November 1, 2021

William Dean Hansbarger, 44, formerly of Chatsworth, was found guilty Friday by a Murray County jury of aggravated child molestation, child molestation and incest involving the sexual abuse of two young children and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The jury was selected Monday, Oct. 25, with Superior Court Judge Scott Minter presiding. The state’s case was presented by assistant district attorney and chief child abuse prosecutor Ben Kenemer. Hansbarger was represented by the Public Defender’s Office.

Kenemer called 16 witnesses including both victims and representatives of the Murray County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Murray Medical Center, Murray County Schools, the Division of Family and Children Services, the Family Support Council and the GreenHouse Child Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center.

Closing arguments started at 9 a.m. Friday after which Minter instructed the jury and sent them out to deliberate mid-morning. The jury was out for one hour before returning a verdict of guilty on all counts.

Following a short break, Minter proceeded to a sentencing hearing and sentenced Hansbarger to life in prison on the aggravated child molestation count plus additional time on the other charges to run concurrent. Hansbarger will not be eligible for parole until he has served 30 years.

The first victim reported the abuse in 2017 after reading a Darkness to Light training document concerning child abuse. Darkness to Light (d2l.org) is an organization that works to prevent child abuse by teaching adults how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

A family member of the child had taken the training and brought home the document. Prior to seeing that training material, the child did not realize that what the defendant was doing was wrong and needed to be reported. The child later disclosed to a school counselor.

After an initial investigation, it was determined there was insufficient evidence to move forward at that time. But then a second victim came forward in 2019 and the case was reopened.

After further investigation by Eric White, currently of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation but at the time a detective with the Murray County Sheriff’s Office, the case was presented to the Murray County grand jury and an indictment returned.

Key evidence in the case included a medical finding of abuse based on an examination of the second victim at Murray Medical Center and forensic interviews of both children conducted by the GreenHouse. It was also extremely helpful to have the testimony of Mary Smith with the Family Support Council who explained the Darkness to Light training program and how children respond to and disclose child abuse.

One of the purposes of the Darkness to Light training for adults is to help those who work with and around children understand that there is not one correct way that children respond, behave or act when they have been abused. All children are different and may exhibit a wide variety of coping mechanisms in these situations.

Hansbarger called four witnesses and testified in his own defense. He denied the allegations and claimed innocent contact that was simply misunderstood. But under cross-examination by Kenemer, Hansbarger tried to avoid answering certain questions and had to be ordered to answer by Minter. Ultimately, the jury did not find his explanations credible.

Child molestation cases are challenging to prosecute so the District Attorney’s Office thanks the jury members for their service and attention to the evidence. Seven of the jurors opted to remain for sentencing, and some stayed and spoke to White afterward.

The District Attorney’s Office also thanks all of those agencies that helped investigate and present the case for their work. Using a team approach in these investigations minimizes the trauma to child victims and makes a just and correct outcome more likely.