A 15-year-old from Dawsonville has been charged as an adult in the alleged molestation of a young child.

Hunter Dakota Lawton Hicks last week was indicted on several counts in connection with a sexual assault that dates back to the summer of 2013.

He is charged with two counts each of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

He also faces a false imprisonment charge, according to court records. All the charges are felonies.

The alleged assault took place between June 1 and Sept. 30 in a wooded area off Hwy. 136 in northern Dawson County.

According to the seven-count indictment, the state could not identify the specific date the incident occurred because "the victim was a young child unable to state a specific date."

The child is listed as under the age of 10.

Dawson County District Attorney Lee Darragh confirmed the state is moving forward with the case against the teen in Superior Court.

While he would not comment further on the particular case, he did say that by law, all cases of aggravated child molestation, where the juvenile defendants are at least 13, are required to initially be charged as adults.

"Most of those charged with that crime are indicted as adults as the law allows, though there is discretion to proceed in juvenile court," he said. "Whether a case will be later transferred to juvenile court or is handled in Superior Court as it stands is often a matter of negotiation concerning the appropriate disposition of the case."

If convicted as an adult, aggravated child molestation carries a life sentence with a mandatory 25 years to serve in prison.