Cherokee School District Paraprofessional Faces Decades in Prison for Sex Crimes
Troy Hickman worked at Mill Creek Middle School and River Ridge High School before pleading guilty to aggravated sexual battery and exploitation of a disabled adult.
Note: This article has been updated with additional information below.
A Cherokee County school paraprofessional was recently convicted of “two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult” after his arrest last November and subsequent guilty plea in May, according to a press release from the District Attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit. The prosecutor on the case notes that, although Hickman acknowledged his crimes, he used alcohol to justify his vile actions and even implied the victim bore some responsibility. The District Attorney described Hickman as using the victim’s “trust and vulnerability for his own sexual desires.”
On his LinkedIn page, Hickman identifies himself as a Paraprofessional and Substitute Teacher within the Cherokee County School District. Board Meeting records show him as starting as a Paraprofessional at River Ridge High School on January 7, 2020. An archive showing the staff at Mill Creek Middle School as of June 18, 2023 lists Hickman as a Special Education Paraprofessional.
Before relocating to Georgia, Hickman had a significant public service history in Hays, Kansas, where he served as mayor—his service honored when April 11, 2013, was designated as “Troy Hickman Day.” Due to the conviction the former mayor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison without the option of parole and will spend the remainder of his years on probation.
Update (8/10/23). Barbara Jacoby, Chief Communications Officer of the Cherokee County School District reached out to the administrator of the Cherokee County School District Unofficial Community Group on Facebook stating this article is “serious misinformation” and providing a link to documentation showing that Hickman either resigned or was terminated from Mill Creek Middle School effective March 25, 2022, “before any crimes were alleged or reported.” It is unclear at this time why Hickman did not work through the end of the school year like most employees on the list.
