It’s true that evil lurks everywhere, even in places we trust such as schools, medical facilities, and within religious organizations. Sadly, predators sometimes hide in these spaces posing as people of character. Kelly Garret Ivey volunteered at a church but was a true wolf in sheep’s clothing. The 43-year-old recently pleaded guilty to trying to sell an underage girl on the dark web. He’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Ivey befriended a 16-year-old girl in Georgia and offered to sell her on a site called “Slave Bay,” WRDW reported. Per the indictment, Ivey promised he’d divulge where she attended school, what kind of car she drove, and other personal details. In exchange, he wanted money to facilitate a kidnapping and sexual assault. The girl’s mother, who recognized Ivey from church, told the outlet in 2023 that she never expected investigators to knock on her door.
“If I can protect one person to tell the story, I don’t want anybody, anybody, to go through what we are going through right now,” she said at the time.
Per the Monticello News, Jasper Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley sentenced Ivey to 80 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including first-degree cruelty to children, sex trafficking, attempted kidnapping, and rape. His victim bravely shared a statement in court addressing Ivey directly.
“You probably thought that I was going to walk in here and stand before you in tears. But I won’t give you the satisfaction; you hold no power over my feelings or my life! I honestly never think about you, but I often pray that God deals with you,” she said, per the News.
Ocmulgee District Attorney’s Office T. Wright Barksdale III announced Ivey’s sentencing in a news release.
“Today a monster was taken off the streets of Georgia. Kelly Garrett Ivey of Forsyth entered a guilty plea in the Superior Court of Jasper County to trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, cruelty to children in the first degree, and criminal attempt to commit rape among other charges,” Barksdale noted in a post shared on social media.
The district attorney also shared an important warning to the community.
“In closing, parents, teachers, and anyone else that works with children, please be aware that evil walks among us every day. Know the people that hang around your children. Report suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately. That hunch you have may save a child,” he added in the post.
It’s hard to believe that people’s minds can be so twisted. It’s unlikely Ivey will ever see the outside of a prison again. Hopefully, he won’t have any access to the internet in prison or the ability to hurt another child ever again.
