An 84-year-old county commissioner in Southeast Georgia was arrested and charged with child molestation and sexual battery on Wednesday after a four-month investigation, authorities said.
Reginald Loper has served nearly two decades as a commissioner in Effingham County, west of Savannah. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the county sheriff asked the bureau in January to investigate allegations of child sex abuse involving Loper, a Republican.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement gave no other details on what prompted Loper’s arrest.
“He has served the county and his constituents well for nearly two decades,” Loper’s fellow commissioners said in statement, “and we pray for him and his family as they deal with this situation.”
It was not immediately known whether Loper had an attorney.
