Registered Sex Offender Sought in Richmond County Child Molestation Case

Richmond County authorities are asking the public for help finding a 32-year-old registered sex offender wanted on warrants tied to an alleged child molestation case that sent a 14-year-old girl to the hospital. Natrel She'won Ray is described as 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds, and investigators say he was already facing outstanding probation violation warrants at the time the new charges were issued.

According to the WJCL report, the sheriff's office says the alleged incident took place on Sunday in the 2500 block of Gerbing Road in Richmond County. Georgia authorities have asked for the public's help finding Ray, who is wanted on warrants related to aggravated child molestation, per the agency's notice. The case has been logged under case number 2026-179389.

Local reporting relayed on Facebook indicates the alleged encounter happened while the 14-year-old victim was visiting her grandmother's residence, after which she was taken to a local hospital emergency room for treatment, according to The Augusta Press. That same reporting notes Ray previously served nearly six years of an eight-year sentence stemming from a 2014 and 2015 arrest for sexual battery involving two underage girls, which is why he was already listed on the state's sex offender registry.

Suspect Was Already Wanted on Probation Warrants

Authorities noted that at the time warrants were issued in the new case, Ray was already facing active outstanding warrants for probation violations, according to the same Facebook-relayed account. It remains unclear whether probation officers or local law enforcement had any active location tracking on Ray before he went missing, or the precise status of those earlier violation warrants — details that have not been made public.

Georgia law requires anyone convicted of a qualifying sex crime against a minor to register in person with their local county sheriff's office within 72 hours of release from custody or placement on probation or parole, under Georgia Code § 42-1-12, as outlined by the Burke County Sheriff's Office. Updated Georgia Uniform Superior Court rules that took effect in October 2025 also allow the Department of Community Supervision to impose stricter electronic monitoring on sex offender probationers, including monitored digital devices and bans on communicating with minors online, according to the Miles Hansford Law Firm.

What Georgia Law Says About Aggravated Child Molestation

Under Georgia Code § 16-6-4(c), child molestation becomes aggravated child molestation when the conduct inflicts physical injury on a minor under 16 or involves an act of sodomy, per Georgia Criminal Lawyer. That distinction carries severe consequences: aggravated child molestation is classified as a serious violent felony under Georgia Code § 17-10-6.1, mandating a minimum 25-year prison sentence followed by lifetime probation, or life imprisonment without early parole, as detailed by FindLaw. Georgia's so-called Seven Deadly Sins statute leaves judges little discretion once a defendant is convicted under that provision.

The charges against Ray remain allegations at this stage, and he has not been apprehended. Georgia open records law requires sensitive victim details in sex crime cases to be redacted before public release, and incident reports like this one are processed through the Richmond County Sheriff's Office Records Bureau at 400 Walton Way.

Recent Local Cases Underscore Prosecutorial Focus

The search for Ray comes weeks after Richmond County Superior Court Judge Amanda Heath sentenced former school paraprofessional Caurey Rollins to 10 additional years in prison and 10 years of probation on multiple child molestation charges involving local youth, a case Hoodline previously covered. That case and the current manhunt both reflect ongoing local court and law enforcement attention to child molestation prosecutions in Richmond County.

Anyone with information about Natrel She'won Ray's whereabouts is asked to contact Investigator Trivia Hardy or an on-call investigator. Investigators can be reached at 706-821-1178 or 706-821-1020, and the Richmond County Sheriff's Office also maintains 24/7 dispatch at 706-821-1080 along with a web-based confidential tip portal for anyone who wishes to report information anonymously.