Cobb County District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced in a public information release that an Atlanta man convicted of raping a child in Austell has been given a sentence of two consecutive life sentences in prison.

Wesley Leon Smith, 28, of Atlanta was convicted on December 13 in the courtroom of Cobb Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs. Childs handed down the sentence recommended by the prosecutors, Senior Assistant District Attorneys Katie Gropper and Meredith Florio.

Smith was found guilty of rape, three counts of aggravated child molestation, and child molestation for acts committed against his girlfriend’s daughter in 2017 and 2018.

The public information release from Kimberly Isaza of the Cobb DA’s office describes the incidents leading to Smith’s arrest as follows:

The child, now 10, testified that the acts occurred in an Austell Road apartment where several adults and children were staying at the time.

The child disclosed the abuse to a relative, and then to her teacher and school counselor, who notified Cobb Police. The jury also heard from a teenager who alleged molestation by the defendant in 2007, when she was just four years old. Criminal charges remain pending in Fulton County in that case.

Detective Lindsay Mack of the Cobb County Police Department handled the investigation.

“This defendant has a long-lasting history of victimizing children, and the impact of his actions will be felt for the rest of these children’s lives,” Gropper said at the time of sentencing. “He has demonstrated that he is a danger to children, and to the community. He cannot be trusted in our society.”

“The evidence I heard in this case, including the testimony of Mr. Smith, makes me very sad,” Judge Childs said before imposing sentence. “Society has a lot of work to do, in a lot of different areas.”