Former Brookhaven employee sentenced following teen undercover sting

Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen announced that a former Brookhaven city official, Patrick Nalley, has been sentenced to two years behind bars after he was caught in 2023 exchanging sexually explicit messages with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Nalley made contact with the undercover officer when he was supposed to be working for the City of Brookhaven and was arrested while driving a city-owned vehicle.

Nalley, 47, was exchanging inappropriate messages with the undercover officer, who he believed to be a child. He set a date for the pair to meet in August 2023, where he was immediately apprehended by police. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to obscene internet contact with a minor and criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Sonja Brown sentenced Nalley to 10 years, with two years to be served in prison. Nalley will also be required to register as a sex offender and comply with the sex offender conditions of probation.

“We take these types of crimes very seriously and are committed to ensuring that those who seek to exploit children are held accountable,” Allen said. “The swift actions of the Cobb County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit have ensured that this defendant will no longer be a threat to our community.”

Prior to his arrest, Nalley had served as Brookhaven’s director of parks and recreation for approximately three months.