Man Gets 8 Years For Child Abuse; Charge Of Shooting Girlfriend Dismissed

  • Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Kaelan Duckett
Kaelan Duckett

A Chattanooga man has been given an eight-year prison sentence in a child abuse case.

Kaelan Duckett also faced an attempted murder charge, but that was dismissed.

Police responded to a May 2020 child abuse report about an assault of a two-year-old. The victim’s mother said Duckett, who was 19 at the time, had agreed to babysit her child while she worked a shift at Amazon.

According to the police report, when the mother came home, she saw bruises, burns, and other injuries on the child’s body. When the mother confronted Duckett, he said he “whooped” the child with a belt, which was now broken.

The mother showed police texts she received from Duckett. She said he apologized for spanking the child, asked her to come back, and texted “U really gone get me locked up.”

When police asked the child what happened, the child said, “He whooped me.”

Duckett was later charged with aggravated child abuse. He pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated child abuse.

On the attempted murder, police responded on July 14, 2022 to a shot person report on Highland Avenue, where they spoke to the victim. She told them she had been arguing with her boyfriend, Duckett, when he pulled a handgun out and shot at her multiple times. One of those bullets struck her in her left leg. 

Two young witnesses also spoke to police, and police collected seven spent shell casings and one live cartridge.

An investigator spoke to the victim after she was transported to Erlanger Hospital. Police said she told them that she wanted a ride but her boyfriend had refused, and that he became angry when she threatened to slash his tires.

She told police that he pulled a handgun out while arguing and brandished it, and that she crossed the street to get away from him. She said he shot at least five times, but only one hit her. She did not have a working phone, so she flagged down a vehicle and rode to her cousin’s house. 

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