Cherokee Judicial Circuit Judge Rosemary Greene denied a motion to set bond for a Dalton, Georgia man facing several felony offenses — including four counts of child molestation — on Aug. 28,
Per Bartow Superior Court documents, defendant Ryan Navin Persad, 35, has also been charged with one count of aggravated sexual battery, one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes and one count of sexual exploitation of children.
According to Bartow County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) records, Persad has been held in pretrial detention at the local jail since June 20.
The alleged offenses, per BCSO documents, occurred in December 2021.
At an arraignment hearing held before the bond motion, Persad pled not guilty to all charges.
Legal counsel for Persad requested that the defendant’s bond amount be set at $50,000.
According to BCSO data, Persad was already out on bond for three offenses allegedly committed in 2021 — one count of child molestation, one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16.
Persad was initially arrested on May 7, 2022, for those alleged offenses. He was released on a $22,500 bond just two days later.
Representing the State at the Aug. 28 hearing was Cherokee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Mayara Farmer.
“The victim’s mother had reached out to the sheriff’s office indicating that she had disclosed additional information an another forensic interview was conducted,” Farmer told the court. “And additional charges were taken out.”
Farmer noted that bond was previously denied for Persad at a July 24 motion hearing.
“From the 2022 arrest to 2023, he had moved from Cartersville to Dalton,” she said. “We did not know where he was at that point in time.”
Farmer said that the State would be able to try the case “as soon as it hits the calendar.”
Farmer requested that bond once again be denied for the defendant.
“Mr. Persad poses a risk for fleeing the jurisdiction, he does not reside here in Bartow County,” Judge Greene stated. “The court is also concerned abut his risk of intimidating witnesses in the matter — so I am going to deny bond at this time.”
