A man from Lithonia, convicted as a serial rapist, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Marieo Terrell Kearney, 40, was found guilty by a jury on March 12, 2025, of multiple charges including rape and aggravated assault. The crimes related to an assault that occurred on May 27, 2019.
On April 17, 2025, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, who oversaw the trial, handed down the sentence of life without parole, plus an additional five years to be served consecutively to Kearney.
The DeKalb County Police Department officers responded to a reported rape near I-20 and I-285 at approximately 9:30 p.m. The victim, a 35-year-old woman, recounted an encounter that escalated into a threat with a firearm, leading to her abduction and assault by Kearney. DNA evidence gathered from the incident linked him to several other pending rape cases in DeKalb County.
Notably, Kearney was implicated in assaults involving solicited sex workers and women offered rides under false pretenses. In these incidents, Kearney used a firearm to coerce and assault his victims, and in some cases, recorded the assaults on their phones. DNA evidence from these cases further matched Kearney, tightens the evidence against him.
One of the victims, after traveling from Pennsylvania to Georgia, was raped after an initial attempt to flee. Surveillance videos and DNA tests confirmed Kearney's involvement in this case as well. Despite previous prosecutorial setbacks, Kearney's guilty plea to aggravated assault had resulted in a prior conviction.
The May 2019 DeKalb County case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Kelsey Devitto, supported by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. The initial investigation was conducted by former DeKalb County Police Detective J.L. Lewis.