Investigation into sheriff's alleged indecent acts to continue

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — An attorney for the DeKalb County sheriff said he's likely to appeal a judge's ruling Wednesday.

That judge cleared the way for a state investigation into the sheriff's indecency charges to move forward.

Sheriff Jeff Mann was arrested and charged in Piedmont Park on May 6 for exposing himself and running from police.

Channel 2's Nicole Carr learned this decision was made in the middle of the sheriff's suspension.

The self-imposed, weeklong paid suspension of the sheriff began Saturday, with Mann's pay going to a charity.

Wednesday’s hearing was the first of three legal hearings he'll attend this week.

Mann didn't speak during the emergency hearing as his lawyer moved to have a state-led investigation into indecency charges dropped.

Part of the sheriff’s argument was the charges for exposing himself and running from police aren't criminal, they're ordinance violations.

"These are criminal in nature," said attorney Rebecca Dubros.

Mann's defense also argued legal overreach for governor-appointed investigators to make a suspension recommendation.

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"Unless you're given the authority you don't have the authority to act," Mann’s attorney Noah Pines argued.

But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Eric Dunaway declared the state investigation can move forward.

Mann is now set to go before the state investigators Thursday as they probe his Piedmont Park arrest.

He's accused on performing sex acts on himself and exposing his private parts in the park. Then, police say, he ran from the arresting officer.

While he went to the park in his county-issued car and met with colleagues at the sheriff's office after bonding out of jail, his attorney argues he wasn't acting as sheriff when the incident all happened - citing that as another reason to drop the state investigation.

When Carr caught up with Mann last week, he wouldn’t talk about his apology memo to his staff nor his self-imposed suspension.

"He needs to be careful how he plays this," Channel 2 legal analyst Esther Panitch told Carr.

Panitch said challenging the seriousness of charges is risky.

"It appears the City of Atlanta did Sheriff Mann a favor by only charging this as an ordinance instead of sending it to the state court in Fulton," Panitch said.

If the investigative committee recommends it, the governor could only impose a 90-day suspension and prosecutors could look into a removal process.

Mann will face the actual charges in municipal court Friday. He's told his staff he'll likely face first-time offender written counseling.

Cox Media Group