Catoosa and Whitfield County authorities say they have the man who preyed on several area children and attempted to kidnap them.

According to Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers and Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood, a joint investigation led to the arrest of Keel Lee Smith, 22, of 335 Maple Grove Road, Dalton, Ga., for multiple counts related to attempted child abductions in Catoosa and Whitfield counties.

The incident that spurred Smith’s identification and arrest was May 25 during the Ringgold 1890's Days celebration. Authorities said Smith sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in an alley on General Cleburne Street in Ringgold. Smith used a deliveryman ploy to coax the 11-year-old victim into the alley where the assault took place and Smith ran when confronted by an adult, Summers said.

Catoosa County sheriff’s investigators joined Ringgold Police Department, which was handling the initial investigation.

“It was learned at that time that Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, along with Tunnel Hill Police Department, was investigating similar incidents…” Summers said in a written statement.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation prepared a composite drawing based on witness identifications.

“During the investigation, it was learned that the suspect had family in the Ringgold area and was living in the Tunnel Hill area of Whitfield County,” Summers said.

Authorities used a driver’s license photo in a photographic lineup prepared by Catoosa County officers and Keel was identified in the assault at 1890's Days in Ringgold.

On June 16, officers arrested Smith in Elberton, Ga. for the sexual assault charge in Catoosa.

Once in Catoosa County, investigators from Whitfield County and Catoosa prepared a photo lineup, which led to positive identification in additional cases in Catoosa and Whitfield. . Smith was charged for an incident in Catoosa on November 13, 2006, where two female children, ages six and seven, received sexual advances from an unknown white male, Summers said.

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office has placed charges on Smith for incidents in Tunnel Hill on May 23, 2007, where an 11-year-old female was assaulted while playing in her neighborhood. Smith was also positively identified in an incident on May 31 in Tunnel Hill where a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old were playing on the playground of a local church where Smith confronted the two young victims and made sexual advances toward them, according to authorities.

Currently, Smith is in the Catoosa County Detention Center where he faces charges of kidnapping (1 count), child molestation (3 counts), aggravated assault (1 count), and criminal attempt to kidnap (2 counts). No bond has been set.

Sheriff Scott Chitwood said a hold will be placed on Smith for incidents in Whitfield County. Currently, Whitfield has obtained one count of child molestation against Smith.

“It is our plan to present evidence to a Whitfield County grand jury to indict Mr. Smith on multiple counts in addition to the child molestation charge,” Chitwood said in a written statement.

Chitwood and Summers said they want to thank all agencies involved in the investigation and stress this investigation will continue to determine if other incidents have happened in the local area.

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