Convicted Serial Rapist Sentenced to Life Without Parole in DeKalb County
A Lithonia man convicted of multiple counts of rape and other felonies has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On Thursday, April 17, 2025, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk handed down the sentence to 40-year-old Marieo Terrell Kearney.
Kearney was found guilty on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, of Rape, Aggravated Sodomy, Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony in connection with the sexual assault of a 35-year-old woman in a parking lot on May 27, 2019.
The investigation revealed that DeKalb County Police Department officers responded to a rape report near I-20 and I-285 on the evening of May 27, 2019. The victim reported being accosted by Kearney after an argument with her boyfriend. Kearney, driving a blue or green sedan, forced her into his car at gunpoint. He then drove her to a secluded location on Snapfinger Road, where he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her. After the assault, Kearney stole the victim’s money and then released her.
The victim sought help, and a rape exam at Grady Memorial Hospital yielded DNA that matched Kearney. Further investigation revealed Kearney was a match in several other pending rape cases in DeKalb County around the same period. Details of these additional assaults were presented during the trial:
- April 16, 2019: Kearney solicited a sex worker in unincorporated Decatur, then raped her at gunpoint, forced her to reveal her phone passcode, filmed the assault, and robbed her. DNA evidence linked Kearney to this crime.
- May 2, 2019: Kearney offered a woman a ride near Memorial Drive and Columbia Drive, then drove her to a secluded parking lot where he forced her to perform oral sex and raped her before dropping her off at a MARTA station. DNA evidence connected Kearney to this assault.
- September 22, 2011: In Morrow, Georgia, Kearney offered a ride to a woman arriving by bus, then pepper-sprayed and raped her, breaking her arm in the process. Surveillance footage corroborated the victim’s identification of Kearney, and DNA evidence matched. Kearney was previously prosecuted for this crime in Clayton County, resulting in a mistrial, followed by a guilty plea to Aggravated Assault and a sentence of 10 years with 3 to serve in confinement.
Senior Assistant District Attorneys Kelsey Devitto and Furhawn Shah prosecuted the May 2019 case, with support from District Attorney Investigators Katrina Calderon and Chrissa Lynch, and Victim Advocate Britney Winley. The initial investigation was led by former DeKalb County Police Department Detective J.L. Lewis.
Judge Polk’s sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole, plus an additional 5 years, effectively ensures that Kearney will spend the remainder of his life in prison for his violent crimes.
