A former band director at a Cobb County private school was indicted last week in connection with an alleged yearslong sexual relationship he had with a student.
Craig Godfrey was formally indicted on eight charges, including three counts of sexual assault of a student, one count of aggravated child molestation, one count of sexual exploitation of children and three counts of obscene internet contact with a child, Cobb court records show.
Godfrey, the former band director at North Cobb Christian School, was arrested in January following an investigation into the relationship, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Godfrey, who was 38 at the time of his arrest, is accused of beginning the “inappropriate relationship” with a sophomore student in 2016, one year after he started working at the school, according to Acworth police. The relationship ended in 2019, authorities said.
“In addition to physical contact, evidence uncovered communication and explicit photos were exchanged between the suspect and the victim using a social media app,” Acworth police Cpl. Stanley Almon said. According to his arrest warrant, Godfrey requested and received nude photos of the girl on Snapchat despite knowing she was underage.
The warrant also accuses Godfrey of engaging in sexual activity with the student on school grounds from February 2016 to May 2019.
Head of School Todd Clingman said administrators immediately began working with Acworth police when information about the relationship came to light.
“North Cobb Christian School has zero tolerance for misconduct and took immediate action by contacting and working closely with the Acworth Police Department,” Clingman said following the band director’s arrest. “Words fail to express how saddened we are to share this heavy news.”
Godfrey, who has a Cartersville address, was released from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center in February after posting $50,000 bond. He had been in jail for 22 days.
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