Canton Man Charged After Teen Who Missed Bus Was Lured, Assaulted, Deputies Say

A 14-year-old girl who missed her school bus along Hickory Road in Cherokee County on August 21 was allegedly lured into a stranger's pickup truck, driven to a location in Canton, and sexually assaulted before being dropped off near her school. Days later, investigators say license plate camera technology helped them track down the truck and, ultimately, the man now sitting in jail without bond.

According to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, the girl's family reported that she missed her bus that morning and tried to walk to school instead. A man driving a large pickup truck pulled over and asked if she needed a ride, the sheriff's office said, and she got in. The girl told investigators the driver took her to a location in Canton, where she was sexually assaulted, before he dropped her off near her school, as reported by CBS News Atlanta. Hickory Road is a residential and arterial corridor in the county where students commonly walk to nearby schools, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.

Cameras Point Detectives to a Truck, Then a Suspect

Cherokee County detectives, working with the sheriff's office's real-time intelligence center, used the county's network of automated license plate reader cameras to identify a truck matching the description given by the victim. That work led investigators to identify 42-year-old Raymond Sookram as a suspect, the report notes. The intelligence center, named the Shaw-Woodard Real-Time Intelligence Center, opened in Canton in January to centralize surveillance data and speed up active investigations, per City Lifestyle.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Sookram's Canton residence on the morning of Thursday before arresting him, according to WSB-TV. Georgia Secretary of State business filings show Sookram as the organizer and registered agent of Reel Pressure Washing & Painting LLC, a domestic limited liability company formed in Canton in March 2022, records show.

Felony Charges Carry Decades-Long Minimums

Sookram is charged with aggravated child molestation, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, and interference with custody, the sheriff's office said. Under Georgia Code § 16-6-4(c), aggravated child molestation carries a split sentence of at least 25 years in prison followed by lifetime probation, or up to life imprisonment, along with mandatory tier-three sex offender registration, according to Savannah Criminal Lawyer. Georgia Code § 16-5-46 similarly sets a mandatory minimum of 25 years up to life imprisonment for trafficking a minor for sexual servitude, per the Georgia Attorney General's Office.

Sookram remains in custody at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center without bond. Georgia magistrate courts lack the statutory authority to set bond on severe felony sex charges, meaning defendants must remain detained until a formal motion is heard before a Superior Court judge, a process that typically requires several weeks of advance scheduling unless negotiated with the district attorney, according to Georgia Criminal Lawyer.

Camera Network Has Solved Crimes — and Drawn Scrutiny

The county's license plate reader system that helped identify Sookram's truck is part of a much larger buildout. The sheriff's office received $518,788 in state grant funding in 2023 to expand the network, later consolidating into a 2025 three-year contract covering 107 Flock Safety cameras countywide, according to the Atlas of Surveillance.

That same camera network has faced intense local scrutiny this year. Four Cherokee County Sheriff's Office employees have been arrested and terminated in 2026 after internal audits uncovered unauthorized misuse of the system, prompting the agency to institute mandatory biannual audits and user certifications, Hoodline previously reported on the Flock scandal. The tension underscores a broader debate in Cherokee County over a surveillance tool that investigators credit with solving serious crimes even as it has been repeatedly abused from within the department that runs it.

Student commute safety has also drawn heightened attention in the county this year. In March, the Cherokee County School District installed automated stop-arm enforcement cameras across its entire 450-bus fleet after a single-day audit revealed 262 motorist violations, Hoodline reported at the time. The case remains under investigation, and Sookram's next court date has not been announced.