A Catoosa County man convicted of the sexual abuse of five young girls and possession of child pornography has been sentenced to life plus 250 years.
James Martin Ferris, 34, was found guilty after a recent trial.
The day after his conviction, Judge Ralph Van Pelt set the sentence.
Ferris on June 5, 2013, was indicted by the Catoosa County Grand Jury on 46 counts. He was also indicted on a misdemeanor count with giving a false name.
At the trial, Ferris was convicted on all charges except the misdemeanor offense which was withdrawn from the jury’s consideration.
Prosecutor Herbert "Buzz" Franklin said the evidence presented showed that Ferris had illicit sexual contact with the five juvenile females who ranged in age from 12 years old to 14 years old. As part of the molestation, Ferris plied the children with alcoholic beverages to impair them. The evidence included a video Ferris had made which showed Ferris sexually abusing a child who was unconscious during the course of the abuse.
The case began on March 27, 2013, when Ferris was arrested by Lt. Freddie Roden of the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department. Lt. Roden, at the time of Ferris’ arrest, seized Ferris’ cellphone along with several media storage devices. A forensic analysis of the defendant’s cellphone and the storage devices by Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent James Harris disclosed the video in which Ferris sexually abused the unconscious victim and images of child pornography and child erotica.
Ferris was represented at the trial by Steven A. Miller of Summerville.
The case was prosecuted by Catoosa County Senior Assistant District Attorney Alan C. Norton.