Ex-Cobb County band director indicted on molestation charges
A former band director at a Cobb County private school has been indicted in connection with what authorities say was a more than three-year sexual relationship with a student.
Craig Godfrey, the former band director at North Cobb Christian School in Kennesaw, was indicted on one count of aggravated child molestation, three counts of sexual assault, one count of sexual exploitation of a child and three counts of distribution of obscene material, Cobb Superior Court records show.
The student in question, now an adult, was a sophomore at North Cobb Christian when the relationship started, the MDJ previously reported. Police say they found evidence of physical contact and that Godfrey and the student had exchanged “communication and explicit photos” on a social media app.
A warrant for Godfrey’s arrest, dated Jan. 19, 2021, shows he received messages in 2016 on the social media platform Snapchat that depicted the student “in the nude.”
The warrant says Godfrey, who was 38 when arrested, “knowingly asked for these pictures,” from the student, who “he knew to be under the age of 15.” Also in January 2016, police say Godfrey had “both text and voice conversations that were sexual in nature,” with the student.
Between March 2016 and May 2019, the warrant says Godfrey and the student carried out sex acts multiple times while on the campus of North Cobb Christian.
Godfrey bonded out of Cobb jail for $50,000 in February, after 22 days in custody, the MDJ previously reported. He previously was the band director at Rockmart High School.
North Cobb Christian Head of School Todd Clingman said in January that the safety of the school’s students were of the “utmost importance.”
“North Cobb Christian School has zero tolerance for misconduct and took immediate action by proactively contacting and working closely with the Acworth Police Department,” Clingman said at the time of Godfrey’s arrest. “As a school, we are all heartbroken by this situation. Together as a community, we are committed to offering the utmost support to our students and families.”
The school conducts full criminal background checks and contacts multiple references for new hires, Clingman added.