Athens Rogues founder seeks suppression of evidence in child sexual exploitation case

I

Gerald Glen Fleming

By Joe Johnson

A founder of the Athens Rogues band is trying to suppress evidence in a child sexual exploitation case.

The case has been pending since November 2023, when 76-year-old Gerald Glen Fleming was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for allegedly possessing such horrific images as children being assaulted by adults, a child bound with rope while being assaulted, and children engaged in sexual conduct with each other.

Fleming is a founding member of the Athens Rogues, a band he and fellow Athens High School students formed in the late 1960s.

He is credited as composer of the trumpet solo for the University of Georgia Redcoats Marching Band song “Glory, Glory."

Last May an Oconee County grand jury returned an indictment charging Fleming with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of children.

According to the GBI, the case began an investigation of Fleming after receiving a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding his possible illegal online activities.

The investigation led to a search of Fleming’s home in Watkinsville where numerous electronic devices were seized and processed by digital forensic investigators. According to the GBI, the search found evidence that Fleming possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material.

At the time of his arrest, Fleming was on parole from a kidnapping conviction in Idaho.

He was granted bail in March 2024 after then -District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez failed to obtain a timely indictment. He was released from custody upon posting bonds that a judge made conditional on Fleming remaining under house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor.

His defense attorney subsequently filed a motion that seeks to suppress as evidence the images of child sexual exploitation seized from Fleming’s home on the grounds the search warrants allegedly were obtained without probable cause.

A hearing on the motion has yet to be scheduled.