Walker County, GA
Josiah Matthew Backus, age 26, of Walker County, Georgia, has been convicted of multiple counts of Aggravated Child Molestation
and Child Molestation after admitting to repeated sexual abuse of his 6- and 8-year-old nieces and his 5-
year-old nephew. He has been sentenced to Life in prison, with the first 35 years to be served without
the possibility of parole.
The case began on August 4, 2024, when a family friend reported that Backus confessed to
sexually abusing the children. The Walker County Sheriff’s Office immediately launched an
investigation. Detective Eddie Hill coordinated forensic interviews of the children through the
Children’s Advocacy Center. Senior Forensic Interviewer Holly Kittle conducted the interviews, where
all three children bravely disclosed the horrific abuse. Their outcries corroborated one another,
describing repeated sexual assaults by their uncle while they lived in the same home.
In his own interview with Detective Hill, Backus admitted to the repeated abuse. He later pled
guilty to multiple counts of Aggravated Child Molestation and Child Molestation.
The prosecution was led by Chief Assistant District Attorney Lynsay Chapman of the Lookout
Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. Detective Hill of the Walker County Sheriff’s
Office spearheaded the investigation.
District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller expressed gratitude for the agencies and professionals who
worked this case:
“This sentence sends a clear message: those who prey upon our children will face the full force
of justice in this community. We will not tolerate predators who destroy the innocence of the most
vulnerable. Thanks to the courage of these children, the tireless work of Detective Hill, and the
exceptional advocacy of the Children’s Advocacy Center—especially Executive Director Anthony Dye
and Senior Forensic Interviewer Holly Kittle, who is an invaluable asset to protecting our community—
this man will never again harm another child. In other circuits across the state and country, prosecutors
let monsters walk free. In Northwest Georgia we stand guard for our children, and ensure that those
monsters spend the majority of their days in a dark prison cell.”
