UPDATE IN CASE: Big Canoe Realtor Charged with Molestation of 10 Year Old Girl

This is an update on a Previous Article Regarding EX-Big Canoe Realtor, Walt Devault, who had been previously arrested and charged with 3 counts of Child Molestation, and then was released back into society on unsupervised Bond.  Our article brought a lot of attention to this case, and to the failure of the justice system.

Before I get to the meat of the article, I want to point out a bright and shining star in all of this, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for Cherokee County, Katie Groppe.  I concluded my last article with a request for prayer.  I believe that prayers were heard, as Ms Groppe was swift in following up on Mr Devault’s situation, and as a result of her efforts, a Motion To Revoke Bond in the case of Walt Devault has been filed.  Following are the pertinent excerpts from the filing:

1. The Defendant has been indicted for three counts of child molestation and is awaiting trial.
2. The Defendant was granted a bond on May 29. 2019.
3. As a condition of said bond, the Defendant is to have no contact with any minor children under the age of eighteen (18).
4. Between February and October of 2021, the Defendant has had repeated contact with four minor females who reside in his apartment complex, including acting in a babysitting capacity with no other adults present. The minor females are ages six (6). eight (8), ten ( 10) and eleven (11).
5. Such contact can be confirmed by the parents of said children, <REDACTED>. who were unaware of the pending charges against Mr. Devault or the bond conditions forbidding his contact with minors.
   

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   This recent high risk situation for these additional 4 young girls and their family, is a direct result of what happens when our Justice System fails the citizenry.  Walt Devault should NEVER have been released on Bond after his arrest years ago, and certainly he should not have been allowed to have his monitored status removed. Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace, previous prosecuting Assistant D.A. Randall Ivey, Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Anthony Baker, and the Defense Attorney (also previous Assistant D.A. for Cherokee Co) Scott Poole all bear responsibility for the current situation.  But make no mistake, these people are merely examples of the overall broken system; examples of what happens when the ACCOUNTABILITY by citizens over those that are supposed to watch over us… FAILS.

Other related updates:

Possibly to avoid negative press generated by the recent article, Big Canoe Brokerage immediately released Walt Devault as an Agent under their Brokerage.  No understanding has been publicly provided as to why this was not done sooner, when public eyes were not so focused on the matter.  Unfortunately, another Brokerage firm stepped forward to allow Walt Devault to continue interacting with the public in non-disclosed manner – PLATINUM REAL ESTATE U.S.A. LLC @ 3330 CUMBERLAND BLVD; SUITE 500; ATLANTA, GA 30339 headed up by Broker Luther Ragsdale, II.  One must also wonder if the Georgia Real Estate Commission has not investigated this as a violation of their ethics code.  Having a man with Bond Conditions that say he can’t interact with persons under the age of 18 due to allegations of child molestations would seem to make it difficult for Mr Devault to show property.  Are families pre-screened to let them know that they can’t bring their younger children?  Or should Walt Devault have his licensure revoked while he is awaiting final determination in his case?

I will again end this article with a request for Prayer:

Prayers for the child, her family, even the many collateral victims within Walt Devault’s family.  Prayers for any other children and their families that may have been more recently affected by Mr. Devault’s actions.  Special Prayers of encouragement, strength and ongoing support for new Prosecutor Katie Gropper that she continue to find a way to cut through the red tape, lack of resources and court system attorney trickery…. to get this to trial and eventually to a true and just result.  Prayers also for all the young children still suffering silently through hidden or ongoing abuse.  Lastly, prayers for the courage and BOLDNESS of the people, that from their midst might arise a new generation of Citizen Journalists, that will take the time to research, watch, write, file complaints and open records requests, and hold accountable not only our elected officials, but all parts of our Societal Systems – because our existing News Media Organizations have failed the people as well.

Peace,
– david / publisher
Focus on Big Canoe, GA

* a publication of The Mountains Voice