The Department of Family and Children Services named one of its 2019 Foster Carers of the Year. On Monday, May 6, that person was arrested and charged with child molestation.
John Harbin, 53, was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a child, luring a child to do something inappropriate, and having inappropriate sexual contact with a foster child.
Investigator Pierce with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office says that a foster child told an adult at her elementary school that she had been touched inappropriately. Because the adult was required to report it, it was reported right away to the authorities.
Sheriff’s deputies quickly found evidence that led to Harbin’s arrest. Monday around 8:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office was told about what was going on. Around 6 p.m., Harbin was arrested and taken to the Colquitt County Jail.
Pierce told WALB that the investigation had help from Hero House in Moultrie, DFCS, and the District Attorney’s Office of Victim Assistance.
Once Harbin was caught, the foster home was shut down by the state, and the other foster kids who were living there were taken away. According to Peirce, the foster kids were not from Colquitt County.
Harbin is still in the Colquitt County Jail because he has not paid surety.