FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Neighbors of a former Boy Scout leader charged with molesting a boy and spying on minors say the allegations don’t square with the man they know.
Andrew Howard Whaley, 61, is charged with sexually abusing a boy he met while in the scouts.
Investigators said they also found a hidden camera in a bathroom at his Forsyth County home that he allegedly used to record minors.
“It is shocking, especially right in your backyard, and you know, we couldn’t believe it,” said Dianne Lacefield, whose house backs up to a cow pasture Whaley owns in Forsyth County.
Channel 2’s Bryan Mims said the driveway to Whaley’s property on Aaron Sosebee Road near Cumming is blocked by a gate.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said this is where agents found the hidden camera and child pornography.
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Whaley also owns a cabin and business in Lumpkin County, where he’s accused of molesting a boy and possessing child pornography.
“I’m shocked, I really am, and I’m angry if this is all true,” said Susan Colangelo, another Forsyth County neighbor who lives in the Villages at Concord Farms subdivision.
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She said she spoke with Whaley when his cows often got loose in the neighborhood. And because she’s a nurse, she said Whaley asked for help in caring for his ailing father.
“He was a very devoted dad to his kids, but he was very devoted to his father,” she said. “I feel very sorry for his family. He loved his animals.”
In Forsyth County, Whaley is charged with six counts of creation of child pornography and 13 counts of eavesdropping and surveillance.
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In Lumpkin County, he’s charged with one count of aggravated child molestation, one count of child molestation and one count of possession of child pornography.
Whaley is locked up in the Lumpkin County jail.
The GBI said “this investigation is active and ongoing.”
Anyone with additional information may contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Cleveland at 706-348-4866.
Tips can also be left by contacting the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
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