Former Fort Gordon Soldier Arrested for Molesting Daughters

Grovetown police have charged a former soldier stationed at Fort Gordon with molesting his young daughters over a two-year period while living in Columbia County.

Jeff Bertschy, 28, was charged this week with eight counts of felony child molestation after an investigation by Grovetown police.

The soldier had been transferred to Fort Riley in Kansas, but allegations soon surfaced in Kansas that he had fondled his two daughters while they were 3 and 4, according to an investigator with the Grovetown Police Department. When he moved to Kansas, he began to feel guilty about the molestation and quit doing it, the investigator said.

But when the allegations surfaced in Kansas about the previous abuse, Kansas authorities investigated and alerted Grovetown police officials. A Grovetown investigator was able to interview Mr. Bertschy, who allegedly confessed to the molestation between 2006 and 2007.

According to Grovetown police, Army officials have filed paperwork for a court martial while the criminal allegations are going forward in Columbia County. The suspect remains in the Columbia County Detention Center.