John Carlton Fleming, a Macon personal injury lawyer, was arrested Thursday on a child molestation charge and released less than an hour later on $82,700 bond, Bibb County jail records show.

Macon criminal defense lawyer Frank Hogue, who was retained by Fleming, said his client "denies it adamantly."

"We're mystified by the allegation," said Hogue, who is working on the case with his wife and law partner Laura Hogue. "He's devastated by this."

A brief report from the Bibb County Sheriff's Office was significantly redacted. The report said someone told an officer in January that Fleming "tried to put his hands in her pants but she got away." The incident apparently happened about two years ago, according to someone else quoted in the report.

That second person, according to the officer's report, "do [sic] not believe Mr. Fleming is a child molester but he dose [sic] believe," followed by a short redaction. The girl's age was not listed.

Fleming joined the State Bar of Georgia in 2008 after graduating from Mercer University law school.

Fleming worked for the Dozier Law Firm in Macon. Managing partner David Dozier said Friday that Fleming worked there for two six-month terms, and the firm did not renew Fleming's contract last December due to "absenteeism and lack of production."