HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. (WGXA) — A Forsyth man will spend years behind bars for repeatedly stalking and abusing his former partner in Houston County.
According to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, 44-year-old Jeremy Robert Cox pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated stalking and one count of burglary in the first degree on April 6, the day his jury trial was set to begin.
Prosecutors say Cox had a long history of being repeatedly violent toward the victim, who is the mother of his child and a former romantic partner, throughout their relationship. As a result, he was sentenced to prison in January 2022 and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
However, this case stemmed from multiple instances of domestic violence that occurred over eight months in Houston County after he was released on parole in December 2022.
The D.A.’s Office says between January 2023 and September 2023, the Warner Robins police officers were dispatched to six different occasions of Cox making contact with the victim and sometimes “placing his hands on her,” in direct violation of his parole conditions.
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According to a 15-count indictment filed in 2024, Cox was accused of strangling, falsely imprisoning, threatening, stalking and stealing from the victim throughout that time. The D.A.’s Office says each time Cox fled the scene before officers arrived, and was able to evade arrest until October 2023.
As part of a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors, the other 12 charges filed against Cox, including battery under family violence, aggravated assault, theft by taking and false imprisonment, were dropped.
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On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 40 years with the first 12 in prison, followed by 28 on probation. A permanent restraining order was also filed to protect the victim, and Cox is required to complete the Family Violence Intervention Program upon his relase.
“This case is a clear example of the dangerous pattern we see in many family violence situations—repeated abuse, followed by repeated violations of court orders meant to protect the victim, said District Attorney Eric Edwards in a statement. “The defendant in this case was given clear instructions by the court to have no contact, and he chose to ignore those orders over and over again. Protective orders are not suggestions. They are put in place to prevent exactly the kind of continued harassment and violence that occurred here. When someone demonstrates that they will not follow those orders, the justice systemmust respond in a way that prioritizes the safety of the victim.”
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