NEWTON COUNTY – A serial child predator will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a guilty plea in court on July 25.
Ronnie Maxwell, 55, of Covington, was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of two children in 2021. Maxwell faced an indictment charging him with one count of rape, two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of aggravated sodomy, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, one count of criminal attempt to commit aggravated sodomy and two counts of child molesation.
Maxwell was also charged with one count of failure to register as a sex offender, one count of felony fleeing a police office, one count of driving while license suspended and one count of reckless driving.
According to a press release from the Newton County District Attorney’s Office, Maxwell’s victims in the 2021 case were ages 6 and 3 at the time of the abuse.
This is the second time that Maxwell had faced charges for sex-related crimes against a minor.
In 2003, Maxwell was sentenced to 30 years with the first 15 years in confinement on charges including two counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of child molestation, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of tampering with evidence. His victims were 11 years old at the time of the crimes, according to the press release.
Maxwell was originally released in 2018.
In 2021, a child disclosed that Maxwell had sexually assaulted them, leading to an investigation by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) and investigator Joshua Hicks.
When the NCSO conducted their investigation, Maxwell led the agency on a high-speed chase. He was later arrested in Smyrna, Tennessee, and returned to custody in Newton County.
In the weeks leading up to a potential trial, the State filed motions to allow evidence of Maxwell’s past crimes in 2003. The court admitted the evidence from the crimes committed against his victims in 2003 as well as a third victim from that time period.
Newton County District Attorney Randy McGinley shared his thoughts via the press release.
“This life without parole sentence will ensure that no other children will be victimized by this Defendant,” McGinley said. “I want to thank all those that worked so hard on this case to provide justice for the victims, both past and present.”
