According to a public information release from Kimberly Isaza, the Public Information Officer for Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes, an Acworth man was given a 50-year sentence for a brutal sexual assault that occurred on on July 5, 2017 after he and the victim met on a dating app.
A Cobb jury earlier in January convicted Darryl Joseph Clark, 38, of aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault-strangulation in the courtroom of Cobb Superior Court Judge C. LaTain Kell.
The public information release describes the crime as follows:
The victim matched with the defendant through a dating app and met him in public the day before the assault. When Clark asked her to come into his apartment, she declined, but agreed to see him the next day. The victim returned to his apartment on July 5, but when the defendant initiated physical contact, she got up to leave. Clark then pushed her down and strangled her to the point she thought she was going to die. Clark then forced the victim to perform oral sex on him and took a video, which he threatened to release to ruin her career if she reported the assault to police.
AdvertisementThe victim did report the assault to Acworth Police Department and received medical evaluations and treatment. In the days following the assault, bruises appeared on her neck and chest, and bleeding developed in both of her eyes. Two nurses who specialize in sexual assault testified that all injuries were indicative of strangulation with significant force. The victim also testified about the lasting effects of the assault, including having to take a year off work, nightmares, and flashbacks.
During the trial a second woman who was involved with Clark took the stand and described frequent episodes of sexual assault committed by Clark. She told the court she had to take out a protective order against him.
“This Defendant viewed women as objects, expected them to give him sex, and was willing to use threats and violence to get what he wanted,” Assistant District Attorney Drew Healy said. “Thanks to his victims being willing to come forward, this repeated predator will not be able to victimize any other women.”
Before handing down the verdict Judge Kell described the women who testified as strong and courageous.
Clark as been in jail since 2017, and the time already served will be credited to his sentence. If he ever gets out of prison, he will be subject to sex offender conditions and registry.
