Across the area

Evans man pleads not guilty to molestation

An Evans man pleaded not guilty to child molestation charges at an arraignment in Columbia County on Friday.

Chin Su Pak, 47, is charged with aggravated child molestation and four counts of child molestation.

Mr. Pak is accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl in his home for about a month. Mr. Pak's wife reported the abuse to authorities after she said she walked in on Mr. Pak having sex with the girl.

He was arrested Sept. 5 and is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.

Convicted sex offender faces drug charges

A Harlem woman once forced to move because of Georgia's sex offender registry law pleaded not guilty in Columbia County Friday to drug charges.

Wendy Whitaker, 30, of Church Street, was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance after a July 8 traffic stop.

When she was 17, Mrs. Whitaker was convicted of sodomy involving a consensual act with a teenage boy. She was evicted from her home in 2008 because of stricter Georgia sex offender laws enacted in 2006.

Fire code violations close N. Augusta club

Law enforcement has closed a North Augusta teen club plagued by problems.

The North Augusta Department of Public Safety closed Club Fusion, on Jefferson Davis Highway, on Monday because of the club's violation of several fire codes, Chief John Thomas said.

Deputies observed the violations when investigating a report of a bomb threat about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, he said. The department, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol evacuated the building, but no explosives were found, according to a police report. Officers reported hearing gunshots in the parking lot after the evacuation.

The club cannot reopen until the building is brought up to code.

Aiken man jailed for exposing wife to HIV

A former Aiken County art teacher has been sentenced for knowingly exposing his wife to HIV.

On Wednesday an Aiken County jury found Joel Lynn Bedenbaugh, 47, of Camden, S.C., guilty of exposing others to HIV, Assistant Aiken County Solicitor Brenda Brisbin said. He was sentenced to six years in prison and four years' probation after a two-day trial.

Mr. Bedenbaugh knowingly exposed his ex-wife to the disease during their marriage between 2002 and 2006, Ms. Brisbin said.

Prosecutors discovered his diagnosis while investigating allegations of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in 2008. Mr. Bedenbaugh had been accused of having sexual contact with a girl between 2003 and 2005, starting when the child was 6 years old, Ms. Brisbin said. The charges were dropped because he is serving time for the current offense and will register as a sex offender, Ms. Brisbin said.

Neither the wife nor the child contracted HIV.

Mr. Bedenbaugh taught art part-time at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School in Aiken and at Warren Road Elementary, according to Augusta Chronicle reports.

Suspect in N. Augusta carjacking is sought

Authorities are looking for a carjacking suspect who led North Augusta police on a chase Thursday afternoon.

North Augusta Public Safety officers spotted a man they believe to be Anthony Tashawn Perry, 24, driving a gold 2002 Ford Explorer south on U.S. Highway 25 about noon. When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver sped away, according to Public Safety Lt. Tim Pearson.

The chase ended when the driver crashed into the North Augusta Chiropractic building on Knox Avenue. He ran away.

A check of the vehicle found it was stolen in a separate carjacking incident, Lt. Pearson said.

Anyone with information on Mr. Perry's whereabouts can call the North Augusta Department of Safety at (803) 279-2121.

Supplier information meetings to be held

Georgia Power, Southern Nuclear and The Shaw Group will hold a series of supplier information meetings in Augusta, Waynesboro, Savannah and Atlanta to familiarize local vendors with the procurement process for the new construction at Plant Vogtle, where two new reactors are planned over the next seven to eight years.

The Waynesboro meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Burke County High School, 1057 Burke Veterans Parkway. The Augusta meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites, 2 10th St.

Participants must register in advance at www.georgiapowercom/supplier. Space is limited.

30 voters cast ballots in early voting Friday

Early voting continued Friday for the Augusta Commission District 1 runoff, with 30 voters casting ballots. In all, 78 have cast ballots since Wednesday.

Ongoing voting hours will be from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Board of Elections Office at 530 Greene St., Room 104. The hours will be expanded from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 23-25.

Voters must present one of six eligible forms of identification when voting.

Only registered voters in District 1 are eligible to cast a ballot in the Dec. 1 runoff. Absentee ballots will be available next week, and voters must make requests in writing to the Board of Elections.

Group offers reward in defacing of monument

A reward is being offered for information about recent vandalism at the Confederate monument on Broad Street.

The Brigadier General E. Porter Alexander Camp No. 158 Sons of Confederate Veterans of Augusta is offering a $1,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the two men suspected of defacing the monument, according to information from the group.

The graffiti was discovered Sunday night on the 700 block of Broad Street.

The messages were spray-painted on the landmark in black and included the words "black power," "I hate whites" and "cracker killers."