DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Lumpkin County residents beware!

Break the law – even a minor traffic violation like an expired tag — and you could find yourself at the mercy of Sentinel Offender Services, a private, for-profit, misdemeanor probation company that provides probation services to Lumpkin and White County counties.

Sentinel has been sued more than 25 times and has been accused of intimidating and threatening probationers. During a recent court hearing, Superior Court Judge Murphy C. Miller called Sentinel’s probation tactics “coercive.”

Hard to believe? Meet Rita Luse and Marianne Ligocki of neighboring White County who say they have been harassed by Sentinel for years.

Luse is a 62-year-old grandmother. Ligocki, a 45-year-old mother of nine. Both women are on a limited income. Luse pleaded guilty to driving on a license tag that had expired 10 days earlier. Ligocki pleaded guilty to driving on a suspended license. Neither had enough money to pay their fine on the day of their court hearing so they were placed on probation.

Now, meet Sentinel Offender Services, the company that supervised their probation.

In the federal civil rights lawsuit Luse and Ligocki have filed against Sentinel, the women say they were forced to submit to and pay for expensive drug tests not authorized by the sentencing judge. If they refused, the lawsuit contends, they were threatened with incarceration.

Sarah Geraghty, the attorney for Southern Center for Human Rights who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Luse, Ligocki and hundreds of others, said, “Sentinel’s predatory practices have nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with turning a profit. Public confidence in the courts will be seriously undermined if these abusive practices are allowed to continue.”

Another White County woman, Kathy Cochran, said her five-year nightmare with Sentinel started in 2011 with the open records request she filed with the Enotah Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. Instead of receiving information, Cochran said she was charged with computer forgery, a charge that was dismissed two years later.

Next, Cochran was accused of Computer Invasion of Privacy and Identity Fraud. Cochran was never arrested, convicted or sentenced and, in 2014, the court ordered the case dead docketed, a device by which prosecution is postponed indefinitely.

Ironically, both charges are felonies and Sentinel’s contract with White County specifically states, “In no event will Sentinel be charged with the responsibility of supervising a felony sentence.”

Despite never being charged, convicted or sentenced, Sentinel ordered Cochran to report to their Cleveland office and undergo drug testing, perform community service and attend a pre-trial diversion program for shoplifting, a crime she was never accused of.

Last Thursday, Sentinel suffered another setback when Judge Miller ruled:

“Defendant Kathy Cochran was not subject to a pre-trial diversion program through Sentinel Probation Services. The court further finds that Sentinel Probation Services had no power or authority to charge the defendant any money, order any drug testing, perform any community service or participate in shoplifting classes. It is hereby ordered that the order dated Jan. 22, 2015 to remove this case from the dead docket is here by vacated and shall be placed back on the dead docket until further order of this court.”

With its sketchy history, why does Lumpkin County allow Sentinel to continue doing business here?

County Manager Stan Kelley says it’s not the county’s responsibility. In response to Fetch Your News Open Records Request, Kelley said in an email, “L.C. Probate and Magistrate courts use private probation, but it is not Sentinel.”

Kelley said Judge Miller has jurisdiction over the other courts. “The superior court has traditionally been allowed to contract for these services without permission of the LCBOC or from other Enotah Circuit governing authorities,” Kelley said.

Tradition aside, O.C.G.A. 42-8-100 (2010) puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners. It states, “The chief judge of any court within the county, with the approval of the governing authority of that county, is authorized to enter into written contracts with corporations, enterprises, or agencies…” It further states, “The final contract negotiated by the chief judge with the private probation entity shall be attached to the approval by the governing authority of the county to privatize probation services as an exhibit thereto.”

One commissioner who is troubled by Sentinel’s record is Commissioner Doug Sherill. In a phone interview, Sherrill said, “My concern is this kind of thing exploits people who can’t fight back because they may not even know who to complain to. Certainly when there are inconsistencies in justice like this, it undermines the integrity of the entire system.”