Forsyth County Man Joseph Robert Liles Charged With Child Molestation

Authorities have arrested a man who they say was preying on children at local neighborhood pools in northeaste Forsyth.

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office has charged Joseph Robert Liles, 28, of 7780 Leeward Cove Ct. with aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, enticing a child for indecent purposes and two counts of child molestation.

Sheriff's Investigators Brooke Atkinson and Matt Starr said they first received a report in February of Liles' involvement in an alleged incident with a 10-year-old boy.

In May, they received a similar report involving a 9-year-old boy.

They said the children had encounters with Liles at the pools in the Young Deer Harbour and Bridgetowne subdivisions, which are about five miles apart.

"Based on the investigation, the molestation of these two victims occurred from June of 2008 through February of 2010," said Atkinson, adding that Liles befriended the children's families and gained their trust.

Authorities are conceed that Liles may have had contact with other children. They say he lived a few years in the Willows of Cumming apartment complex before moving to Young Deer Harbour.

"If there have been outcries from children to their parents and they have not brought it to law enforcement's attention, they need to," Starr said.

Sheriff's Major Dan Jagoe noted the difficulties of cases involving allegations made by children. Often, family members may not believe them.

In this instance, however, he said one mother thanked investigators for their hard work and for believing her son's story.