Mark Millican
COHUTTA — A man who admitted to deputies he had been drinking was arrested on Sunday for sexual battery against a 17-year-old female in his care, officials said.
John Henry Calfee, 51, of 4308 Country Way, was charged by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office. He was released on a $2,500 bond on Monday.
The 17-year-old, of the same address but with a different last name, told Deputy Jason Mathis that Calfee “grabbed her and held her down” at the house and “ran his hand down her top, grabbed her breast and then attempted to grab her crotch,” according to an incident report.
Deputy Ron Kirby said Calfee “started speaking on his own accord” and told Detective Danny Headrick he “told (the girl) he loved her” and that she “would make someone a good wife and started hugging her.” Calfee said the girl “must have got upset” and run to a neighbor’s house.
After waiving his Miranda rights, Calfee said he “might have” touched the girl’s breast when asked about it by Headrick, according to the report. Calfee told Kirby he had had “three or four beers” when the officer smelled alcohol while placing Calfee in the patrol car.
While Calfee was being booked at the jail, Mathis contacted Kirby about another incident at the residence. Mathis said while Calfee’s wife was searching his Ford Explorer “for a firearm she was going to dispose of” she found a container in the glove box containing “four small crystal rocks,” according to the report. Mathis tested the rocks with a methamphetamine test kit and said a “reaction” occurred but the color did not match 100 percent. The rocks were placed into evidence to be sent to the state crime lab.
Contacted at the residence, a woman who identified herself as Calfee’s wife said, “Neither one of us have any comments right now.” Asked if she was a foster parent, she replied, “I am a parent.”
Cohutta and Varnell police officers also responded.
“I was told by one of the investigating officers that it was a caregiver situation in that home,” said Lt. Scott Casey of the Varnell department. “I don’t know the particulars.”
Lamar Long, director of the Whitfield County Department of Family and Children Services, said Calfee was not a foster parent in the system and the female was not a foster child in the system.
