Thirteen years to the day after he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct involving a 9-year-old girl, Christopher Swinford was found guilty of molesting another child. On Saturday, October 31, 2026, a Crawford County jury convicted Swinford, 46, of Child Molestation after a six-day trial. He was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 19 to serve in the Georgia Department of Corrections.
On April 7, 2022, Swinford molested a 9-year-old girl in the basement of his home. The girl and three of her younger sisters were staying there while their mother, who was dating Swinford’s son, was at work. The girl courageously told her mother what happened, and her mother quickly reported it to police.
During the investigation, Swinford gave law enforcement video footage from inside the home. The footage, however, was missing the period of time when the incident occurred.
In 2013, Swinford pleaded guilty as a first offender to similar conduct involving a different 9-year-old girl and was sentenced to probation. The girls’ mother in the current case did not know about the prior case when her daughters were in his home. Both victims bravely testified before the jury about what happened to them.
“This young girl found the courage to tell the truth, and a Crawford County jury listened,” said Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard. “I am proud of my team and their advocacy for this girl and all children who are violated in incomprehensible ways like this. I’m also grateful to the GBI for a thorough investigation. Mr. Swinford will now spend nearly two decades in prison, where he cannot harm another child.”
This case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Taylor Wilson and Assistant District Attorney Hannah Frantz and investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.