Canton man gets life for 5-hour Nextdoor assault

Nextdoor assault – A 23-year-old Canton man, Ezekiel Lamar Jackson, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after prosecutors said he assaulted and raped a woman he met through a Nextdoor post for apartment cleaning, attacking her over five hours on April

The attack lasted five hours. By the time police reached the hospital waiting room, Ezekiel Lamar Jackson was still there—right where his victim ended up after persuading him to take her for medical help.

Jackson, 23, has been sentenced to life in prison for assaulting and raping a woman he had arranged to come and clean his apartment. Prosecutors say he sexually assaulted her multiple times and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave over the course of five hours on April 6.

The Canton Police Department began investigating that day after Northside Hospital reported a patient who had been attacked. Investigators say the woman had replied to a Nextdoor post about apartment cleaning the day before. setting up an appointment with Jackson the morning of April 6 to assess the work.

Prosecutors described a brutal pattern of control and escalating violence. While the woman was in the bathroom, they say Jackson stabbed her in the face and eye with a screwdriver. They allege he strangled her until she felt she was losing consciousness and kept her from screaming for help by forcing his fingers down her throat.

Eventually, prosecutors say the victim persuaded Jackson to take her to the hospital. She allegedly agreed to tell staff that she had fallen and hit her face on a counter. Physicians later discovered that she had suffered an orbital fracture and brain bleeds.

Police arrested Jackson when they arrived at the hospital waiting room.

Investigators said his phone offered further evidence of how the meeting began. During the search, they found 15 responses to his Nextdoor post. Jackson, prosecutors said, ignored the rest—messages from men or employees of larger cleaning companies—responding only to the victim’s message.

“Evidence suggests this defendant intentionally targeted this victim because she was a woman working alone. ” Cherokee County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Chavis said. She called Jackson “a dangerous man” and said the brutality of his actions was “shocking. ” while describing the victim as demonstrating “great courage and strength” that ultimately helped her save her own life.

Jackson pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of rape, three counts of aggravated sodomy, kidnapping, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated battery, and terroristic threats.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole, followed by 40 years of probation.

District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said Jackson’s conduct was “torturous and horrific.” She said that for five hours, the victim “endured unimaginable violence” and that “a sentence of life in prison is the only appropriate outcome” for the “deeply disturbing actions.”

The sentence includes restitution and a requirement that Jackson have no contact with the victim. During probation, prosecutors said he is barred from Georgia except for Effingham County and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Jackson must also register as a sex offender and receive psychosexual and mental health evaluations and treatments.

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