Walker County man receives life for aggravated child molestation
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — A Walker County man received a life in prison after being convicted of aggravated child molestation.
On August 4, 2024, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) received a report that Josiah Matthew Backus confessed to sexually abusing children.
According to the Lookout Mountain District Attorney’s Office, the WCSO launched an investigation and interviewed the victims.
The victims statements aligned with one another, and when Backus was interviewed by detectives, he admitted to committing the sexual abuse.
Backus later pled guilty to multiple counts of Aggravated Child Molestation and Child Molestation.
On August 28, 2025, Backus was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
““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.”
-District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller
