Man travels from Canada to Douglas County to molest juvenile, pleads guilty in court

Posted by Admin September 11, 2024 Travel

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty to several charges on Monday after police say he traveled from Canada to Douglas County to sexually abuse a juvenile.

Royce Rivard was convicted of four counts of child molestation and one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office said. He was sentenced to 60 years with the first 25 to be served in confinement.

Rivard met the victim on social media, using her love of celebrities and music to groom her, according to the district attorney’s office. In the summer of 2022, the victim said Rivard came to Georgia, rented out an Airbnb and abused her there.

When the girl threatened to cut contact with him, Rivard said he would lie about her family and knew where they lived and worked. But the victim told her parents what had happened in February 2023, kickstarting the investigation.

Rivard was arrested in April 2023 at a port from Canada into Michigan.

“We applaud and appreciate the victim’s courageousness in speaking about her abuser,” Douglas County District Attorney Dalia Racine said in a statement. “Too often these incidents go untold, leaving the victims to suffer in silence.”