Stockbridge man gets 25 years in prison for sex assault

Roderick Moreland  (Credit: Henry County Sheriff's Office)

Roderick Moreland (Credit: Henry County Sheriff's Office)

A Stockbridge man will spend 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman with special needs.

A Henry County jury found Roderick Steele Moreland guilty Wednesday of aggravated sodomy. Once the 30-year-old has completed his prison sentence, he will spend the rest of his life on probation and the sex offender registry.

On Dec. 14, 2015, Moreland picked up a woman walking from a laundromat on Highway 138 and forced her to perform oral sex on him at his Stockbridge home.

“This man targeted her, preyed upon her, and sexually assaulted her,” Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo said. “This verdict reflects that Henry County residents will not allow crimes like this to occur in our community.”

In March 2015, Moreland was accused of groping and rubbing against a female customer at the Walmart store on Hudson Bridge Road and was subsequently charged with sexual battery. He was later acquitted in that case but earned the nickname the “Walmart Groper.”