Man kissed and improperly touched 10 and 12 year old girls, Columbus police say

A Columbus man facing two counts of child molestation is accused of kissing and improperly touching two girls, a police detective testified during a Thursday hearing in Recorder's Court.

Everett Miller, 58, waived his 2 p.m. hearing but detective Mark Scruggs of the Special Victims Unit presented enough information for Judge Julius Hunter to set a bond. Hunter set bonds totaling $50,000 on the two charges, bound the cases over to Muscogee Superior Court and directed Miller to have no contact with the victims if he makes bond.

Scruggs said police started and investigation on June 19, 2017, after talking with someone about a sexual battery case. Records show the incident is alleged to have occurred at a home near Schomburg Road.

Police said the investigation involved a 3-year-old girl but it turned out that she wasn't a victim of being improperly touched. However, the investigation led to concerns of improperly touching of 10-year-old and 12-year-old girls.

The detective said both girls were improperly touched and one was also kissed on the mouth with his tongue.

In a text message to a relative of the girls, the suspect said he was drunk and never meant to touch the girls. With the older girl, he denied improperly touching the girl but admitted to kissing the girl on the cheek.

During the investigation, both girls were interviewed at the Tri-County Children Advocacy Center in Terrell County, Ga., the detective said.

Miller is a contractor who works at Fort Benning, according to an arrest report.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 5:08 PM.