Bibb County jurors deliberated for about an hour Wednesday afternoon before finding a Macon man guilty of molesting two 6-year-olds between May 2015 and May 2016.
Tommy Barzella Tinsley, 52, was convicted of two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of aggravated child molestation and three counts of child molestation. A judge sentenced him to life in prison plus an additional 40 years.
Prosecutor Dorothy Hull presented evidence during a two-day trial that in addition to molesting a 6-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, Tinsley had the children perform sex acts with each other in his presence. According to prosecutors, he also showed the children pornography on a cell phone. In addition to other witnesses, the two children testified during the trial in Bibb County Superior Court.
Speaking after the trial, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke didn’t mince words about the crime.
“Mr. Tinsley thought he’d get away with his sick perversions, and that his cowardly acts would never come to light. But these two children showed what bravery looks like when they stood in open court and told what this sick man did. I’m so thankful for a jury that held him accountable, and a sentence that ensures that he’ll never touch a child again,” Cooke said.
