Report: Dismissed Georgia WR Rara Thomas indicted on cruelty to children, battery charges

Former Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Rara Thomas has reportedly been indicted by a grand jury on charges of battery and cruelty to children.

The indictment came at the Superior Court of Clarke County and was for a felony count of cruelty to children the second degree and to misdemeanor battery charges. This comes after Thomas was arrested in the Summer for the same charges that he has now been indicted for. He would be suspended indefinitely by the Georgia football program before being dismissed before the season began.

The arrest occurred on July 26th, 2024 when police responded to a call at 300 block of Mill Creek Way over domestic violence that involved his daughter. No police report was released at the time due to the age of the victim but details were included in the indictment.

In the felony count of cruelty to children, Rara Thomas was charged with causing “cruel physical pain by hitting said victim while battering her mother,” to the victim, who was being held by her mother at the time. Then, in the domestic battery charge, Thomas is accused of causing a “bloody nose, bloody split lip, a scrape to the chin and bruising to the neck” to the mother. The indictment says that was done by “punching her in the face.”

In the second battery charge, Thomas is accused of intentionally causing “a scrape to the forehead,” of his daughter while “battering her mother.”

After his arrest, Thomas was released after posting a $3,500 bond. Upon posting bond, his lawyer, Kim Stephens, released a statement on the situation.

“I am pleased that bond could be set and Mr. Thomas released while we fully investigate the case,” Kim Stephens wrote over the summer. “We expect that this matter can be resolved swiftly and fairly once all facts are known.”

Rara Thomas was arrested early on a Friday morning in July, being booked into jail at 3:20 a.m. At the time he was hit with three charges, all of which carried the “family-violence” tag.

Prior to his time with the Georgia Bulldogs, Rara Thomas spent two seasons with Mississippi State.

In 2023, Thomas’ first with Georgia, he caught 23 passes for 383 yards and a touchdown. That was considered a bit of an up-and-down season for Thomas and he was expected to grow into a major factor in the Bulldogs offense before his arrest.

In January 2023, shortly after Rara Thomas transferred to Georgia, he was charged in a separate incident for false imprisonment and domestic battery. The false imprisonment charge was later dismissed.

Rara Thomas is scheduled to be arraigned on December 16th, 2024.