August 12th, 2025 – Chattooga County, GA – On August 7, 2025, Christopher Mark Tidmore, a
36-year-old man from Summerville, was convicted of committing multiple acts of sexual abuse against
his 15-year-old adopted daughter and his daughter’s 15-year-old friend. The case against Tidmore,
which was investigated by Detective Josh Strauss with the Summerville Police Department, came to
light when Tidmore’s daughter’s friend disclosed that Tidmore had committed sexual abuse against her
while she was having a sleepover with Tidmore’s daughter. An investigation into Tidmore ensued, and
he was subsequently interviewed by Detective Strauss and search warrants were obtained for his
electronic devices.
A search of the electronic devices by Detective Strauss revealed that Tidmore had used his cell
phone to record himself committing numerous acts of child molestation against his adopted daughter.
Tidmore’s phone contained multiple images of minors engaged in sexual acts, as well as a photograph of
Tidmore’s penis placed on the face of a minor.
During Tidmore’s recorded interview with Detective Strauss, when Tidmore was asked whether
he had engaged in sexual activity with any minors, Tidmore casually responded, “yeah, my daughter.”
After pleading guilty to Aggravated Sexual Battery, Aggravated Child Molestation, Aggravated
Sodomy, Incest, Statutory Rape, and several counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, Tidmore was
sentenced to Life, with 38 years of the sentence to be served without the possibility of parole.
The State of Georgia was represented by Chief Assistant District Attorney Deanna Reisman, and
the case was thoroughly and expertly investigated by Summerville Police Detective Josh Strauss.
“Evil walks among us every day. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the
world he didn’t exist — but this case proved otherwise. This monster stole the innocence of children,
and Detective Josh Strauss hunted him down, pulled evil into the light, and made sure he will spend the
majority of his days behind iron bars,” District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller said.
