A Trenton man has been convicted on multiple felony charges involving the sexual abuse and trafficking of two minors following a two-day jury trial in Dade County. The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office released the following statement detailing the investigation, trial, and conviction:
Trenton, Georgia – A Trenton man was convicted of sexual offenses
perpetrated on two minor victims by a Dade County jury following a two-day trial before Chief Judge
Brian House which concluded on October 20, 2026. Virgil Travis Gilliam, 53, was convicted of Rape,
Aggravated Sodomy, three counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, Trafficking of a Minor for Sexual
Servitude, and three counts of Child Molestation.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Gilliam raped and sodomized a four-year-old
girl and subjected the child to sexual servitude by taking her to other men’s houses and forcing her to
have sex with them for money. The allegations came to light when the child disclosed to Dade County
Sheriff’s Office Investigator Chris Gravitt several years after her abuse. A forensic interview was
scheduled for the child at the Children’s Advocacy Center, during which the child disclosed extensive
sexual and physical abuse at the hands of Gilliam. A sexual assault examination of the victim was
conducted and revealed injuries that were consistent with the victim’s disclosure of sexual abuse.
During the investigation, a second victim was discovered who had been sexually assaulted by the
Defendant at age fifteen. Data from adult pornographic websites containing references to incest and sex
trafficking was located on Gilliam’s cell phone.
Gravitt’s thorough investigation of the Defendant’s past revealed multiple prior victims of sexual
abuse. Evidence presented at trial showed that in 1995, at age 22, Gilliam impregnated a thirteen-year-
old girl in Dade County and married her three months prior to her giving birth to their child. Additional
evidence showed that in 2010 in Dekalb County, Alabama, Gilliam raped a thirteen-year-old girl and
subjected her to sex trafficking by forcing her to have sex with another man in exchange for Gilliam
receiving TV’s and furniture. The Defendant was never arrested or formally charged for either incident.
The victims were supported and accompanied during the trial by members of B.A.C.A. – Bikers
Against Child Abuse, a charitable worldwide motorcycle association built from biker community
members. The case was presented by Senior Assistant District Attorney Kevin Baugh, who was assisted
by Administrative Assistants Tamara Clayton, Crystal McNabb, and Jessica Pressnell, Victim-Witness
Services Director Amy Reed, and Chief Investigator Christy Smith. Following the verdict, Baugh
commended the work of Gravitt and the Dade County Sheriff’s Office: “Chris Gravitt dedicated
countless hours to this investigation and provided our office with extensive evidence that was crucial in
obtaining a conviction in this case and helping take this dangerous sexual predator off the streets. Our
community is now safer thanks to his efforts.”
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled but is expected to take place next week. Under
Georgia law, Gilliam faces a maximum potential sentence of Life without the possibility of parole for
his crimes.