MAYOR’S ‘WAR ON JOHNS’ STARTS IN EARNEST

Jury Labels Solomon Fitzgerald Gort Guilty in Less than One-Half Hour

“We have joined with Mayor Shirley Franklin to demonstrate to any so-called “Johns” entering our County that we are serious and will not tolerate sexual activity with minors.”

With those words, Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announced the conviction today of 42-year-old Solomon Gort of Marietta on charges of pandering (soliciting a child under the age of 18 to perform an act of prostitution) and false imprisonment. It took the Fulton County Superior Court jury less than half an hour to find the defendant guilty on both counts. A pandering conviction carries a penalty of 5-to-20 years; conviction on the charge of false imprisonment carries a penalty of 1-to-10 years in prison. Judge Tom Campbell heard from all parties before taking the matter of sentencing under advisement.

The 15-year-old victim had traveled from Toledo, Ohio with her pimp to work as a prostitute. The defendant promised to pay $50 for oral sex, but drove her—against her will—to a location beside a highway and forced her to have oral sex and intercourse. The victim had told Gort to let her out of the car, but he refused. He then took the victim to a Cobb County motel where he was smoking crack. On the pretext of going to the lobby to buy a soda, the girl was able to call police. Gort was arrested by Cobb police at the motel on drug charges. He had pleaded guilty to those charges in Cobb. Though she lives in Ohio, the victim returned to Atlanta to testify against the defendant at his Fulton County trial.

This case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Kimberly Esmond Adams with assistance from Atlanta Police Detective Steve Weisenberg and retired Detective Lyn Daniel. Cobb County Sgt. Larry White and Officer Jason Poole worked the case, as did Fulton County DA Investigators Antoinette Beyah and Cyndi Williamson. The Fulton Victim-Witness advocate assigned to the case was Pamela Powell.

CONTACT: Lyn Vaughn, 404.730.6860 (office); 770.597.6963 (cell); lyn.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us