Gainesville man charged with sexually assaulting 3 girls

Hall County Sheriff’s investigators have charged a 57-year-old Gainesville man with sexually assaulting three young girls. The alleged assaults occurred over a period of six years, according to officials.

Ricardo Paniagua faces felony charges of aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, and child molestation in connection to the alleged assaults. He faces a single count for each charge on each victim for a total of nine (9) felony charges.

Investigators determined the assaults began in 2008 and continued until 2014. Each victim was under the age of 10 when she was first assaulted, the sheriff’s office says. Each girl suffered sexual assaults for approximately two years.

The crimes were first reported to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office on November 15, 2023. Paniagua and the victims are known to one another, officials say.

Deputies booked Paniagua into the Hall County Jail on Wednesday, December 13. He remains jailed with no bond.