08/05/2026
Today, in the Jasper County courtroom in Paulding, 65-year-old Richard Jordan of Jones County entered a guilty plea to one count of Child Exploitation. Jordan, who had initially requested a trial by jury, changed his plea to guilty after a jury had been selected and the State's first witness began testifying.
Jordan was apprehended during an undercover sting operation conducted by the Jasper County Sheriff's Department. He had contacted who he believed to be an underage male through a dating website. Jordan drove to Heidelberg to meet the "child" but was instead met by deputies with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
I want to commend Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson and his department for their outstanding work in getting this predator off the streets.
I also want to commend Jasper County Investigator Patrick Edwards for his excellent investigation. This case involved the use of digital evidence, an area in which he has received specialized training. Investigator Edwards said it best when he told me, "We conduct these investigations to get to the predators before they get to our children."
The prosecutor assigned to this case was Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Wood, who did an outstanding job preparing this complex case for trial.
