Enigma mayor accused of assaulting city officials plans to serve out four-year term in office

ENIGMA — Enigma’s embattled mayor is not planning on stepping down after a December arrest on battery and other charges stemming from alleged assaults that occurred at City Council meetings.

Cecil Giddens, 79, was re-elected as mayor of the small Berrien County community in November of 2023 to another four-term, a clerk at Enigma City Hall said on Tuesday. The clerk said Giddens has announced plans to serve out the remainder of that term.

Enigma is a city of about 1,050 located in the northwestern tip of Berrien County about nine miles east of Tifton.

Giddens was arrested on Dec. 20 following an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office requested the agency conduct an investigation on June 15, 2023. That followed allegations that Giddens assaulted a member of the City Council three days earlier at a meeting of the council.

On Oct. 27, the GBI received allegations that Giddens had allegedly assaulted a second council member at a meeting.

The mayor turned himself in at the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 21 after charges were filed the previous day, according to the GBI. He has been charged with simple battery and two counts each of simple assault, battery and disorderly conduct.

The case remains under investigation. Once the GBI completes the probe, the results will be handed to the district attorney’s office to review and determine if prosecution is warranted.

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