A Columbia County Fire Department employee faces two rape charges in separate cases involving different victims, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Zander Ean McDade, born in February 2005, was arrested in connection with two ongoing rape investigations. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office charged McDade with two counts of rape involving different victims at separate times and locations.
What We Know: McDade’s listed employer is the Columbia County Fire Department, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. He faces charges in two separate cases. The alleged crimes occurred at different times and locations with two different victims. McDade is being held at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
Take Action: Anyone with information related to these cases can contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 706-821-1020 or submit an anonymous tip through the department’s tip line. The sheriff’s office encourages people with relevant information to come forward as the investigations continue.
The cases remain under active investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
