Sex offender is arrested on molestation charge

An Augusta man released from probation June 4 for a 2005 Columbia County statutory rape conviction was arrested three weeks later for another sex offense.

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Augusta authorities arrested William Archer Stulb on June 29 on behalf of the Glynn County Police Department. That office issued a warrant for the 23-year-old's arrest in response to a June 22 incident in Sea Island, Ga., according to Glynn CountyPolice Capt. Willie McCoy.

Stulb was transferred from the Augusta-Richmond County Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday and is being held without bond in the Glynn County Detention Center in Brunswick, Ga., according to jail personnel.

McCoy would release only the initial incident report, which stated that police responded to a Seventh Street residence "regarding an alleged child molestation."

Other than saying Stulb was not at the residence when police arrived, McCoy said he could not discuss details of the case as it is still under investigation.

According to the arrest warrant, Stulb is charged with molesting an 11-year-old Augusta girl.

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office received the warrant information Sunday and arrested Stulb within the hour at his Augusta home, Investigator Scott Peebles said.

In 2005, a jury found Stulb guilty of statutory rape for having sex in 2003 with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18. He was sentenced to one year in jail followed by nine years on probation, 300 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.

At the time, the law did not require Stulb to register as a sex offender because of his age when he committed the offense.

The option to require sex offender registry was at the discretion of the presiding judge.

When the law changed in 2006, Stulb was then required to register.

On May 21, Superior Court Judge Duncan Wheale rescinded Stulb's sentence. In a June 4 hearing, Wheale resentenced Stulb under the First Offender Act to time served and released him from probation.

The prosecutor said the District Attorney's Office plans to appeal that decision. If upheld by the state appellate court, the case could set a precedent that would allow someone to be resentenced as a first offender after having already been found guilty and sentenced.

William Archer Stulb was arrested and charged with child molestation June 29.