By Laura Link
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Jim Francois of Yellow Creek Road and a former Big Canoe resident was granted bond Thursday, September 18, following his arrest by the Pickens County Sheriff's Department September 2 on a child molestation charge.

Judge Roger E. Bradley of Pickens County Superior Court, Appalachian Judicial Circuit, set bond in the amount of $100,000 subject to a lengthy list of confining conditions. Francois bailed out of the Pickens County Detention Center Thursday, September 18, afternoon. His case will come before the next grand jury convening December 8, 2008.

Pickens County District Attorney Joe Hendricks said he is pushing for this case and another child abuse case in the county to go to the top of the court calendar.

Francois, 77, is charged with one count of aggravated child molestation felony and one count of sodomy/aggravated sodomy/felony. The child's parents who live in Jasper filed charges approximately two weeks after the latest alleged incident occurred in August according to the reporting officer Cpl. Chris Leake.

The incident report was made in Pickens County on September 2, 2008 and allegedly involved a boy long known to Francois as his mentee for several years. Francois had managed to become a friend of the family attending cookouts and meeting in town for breakfasts with the family, according to the Sheriff's department incident report.

The incident report stated that Francois had the victim to his residence several times and would take him to Big Canoe for swimming and to do art and craft projects with him. A search warrant of Francois' house on Yellow Creek Road produced evidence named by the child exactly where the child told them it was in the house.

 Ties to Big Canoe disputed

On his mentoring application Francois stated he had been involved with youth programs at Big Canoe Chapel. Allen Wigington, Chief Deputy, said he was present when Francois was questioned on this and he again stated he had been associated with youth programs and the scouting program sponsored by The Chapel.

Ben Collins, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Chapel issued the following statement:

"Jim Francois sang in the choir. That is his only connection with The Big Canoe Chapel. He has never had a connection with our youth programs or Boy Scout program".

According to the Rev. Lamar Helms, Associate Chaplain, a letter was sent to all members of The Chapel with children and youth assuring them Francois had at no time had contact with the youth and children in their activities of The Chapel.

Pickens County Sheriff Billy Wofford said Francois was involved with mentoring programs at Harmony Elementary School, Pickens Middle School and the talent press program at Jasper Elementary. Francois was never a mentor at Tate Elementary School where Big Canoe children attend.

Francois had been a mentor since 2006 according to mentor officials and currently had four students he mentored and one former student. The case came to light when the Harmony Elementary School student Francois mentored told his parents Mr. Jim, as he was called by the child, made inappropriate contact with him.

Mentored the victim

Wigington said they have seen no evidence of other victims and it appears to be an isolated incident in the mentoring program. He said the investigation has been expanded to include all youth Francois is known to have had contact with.

Jan Coleman, director of the mentor program, administered by a local non-profit charity under the direction of the Georgia Department of Human Resources, said this is a single and unfortunate isolated incident. She said Francois had passed the standard criminal background check and had a solid application listing other youth programs and was involved in a local church where he volunteered.

Dr. Ellis Mills, a retired high school teacher, elementary school principal in the Decatur School System and immediate past chairman of the board of trustees for The Chapel, said the mentoring program is so important in the schools. Mills is a Big Canoe resident and Tate Elementary School mentor along with his wife Polly. Mills said he hoped this isolated incident with a school mentor would not jeopardize the program.

All mentors are fingerprinted and must have a background check done by the Pickens County Sheriff's Dept. before they can ever meet with a child.

Change in rules for mentors

Since the Francois arrest the Pickens School Board has informed all mentors they may not have contact with a child off campus. All meetings on campus must be with doors opened and in public areas of the school.Previously some of the Big Canoe mentors had gotten permission from parents or guardians to bring their child to Big Canoe for fishing or swimming. Now that won't be possible any more.

Steve Panetta, Director of the Fitness Center at Big Canoe, was shocked to learn of Francois' arrest. Panetta said Francois had been coming to the swim club deck every Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for years to let children paint little wooden figures and flower boxes.

"My little girl painted some of these with him on Saturdays. He would provide the supplies and charge the children two to three dollars each time. At no time was Jim ever in a private place with a child. He was always in public where there was no private contact," Panetta, a mentor himself in Dawson County emphatically said.

 Bail restrictions

In addition to the $100,000 bond, Judge Bradley set the following conditions for Francois' release from the Pickens County Detention Center:

Defendant will be placed under house arrest and must remain on his property at all times. He cannot be released on bond until he has an active G.P.S. ankle monitor set specifically to alarm if he leaves his Yellow Creek property. He must pay expenses pertaining to the monitor. The defendant can leave only for physician, hospital and dental appointments or appointments with his attorney, Edwin Marger.

When he leaves for these appointments he must be at all times accompanied by his son, Michael Francois. He must call his pre-trial probation officer before leaving and upon returning giving his destination, the time required to get there and the time he will return home. His family must provide all of his personal needs and deliver these to him at home.

Francois will be subject to all sex offender conditions of probation with the exception of the polygraph conditions. He can have no contact with any children under the age of 18 years or any witnesses or victim in this case.

He cannot leave the State of Georgia and if he has a passport, it must be surrendered to the sheriff of Pickens County and he may not apply for a passport if he has none at the present time.

Jim and his late wife Eleanor moved to Big Canoe from Miami, FL in the early days of Big Canoe's development. He began working as a real estate agent for Big Canoe Realty and was active in a woodworking group in Big Canoe. He built the storage units on Steve Tate Highway across from the Foothills Shopping Center and lived on that property before moving to Yellow Creek Road.