A Catoosa County jury convicted a couple for cruelty to children in the first degree (two counts) and cruelty to children in the second degree (two counts). Each received a sentence of 20 years to serve in prison. No names were released due to the privacy of the children.
The couple were charged in December 2023 after a joint investigation of the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Catoosa County Division of Family and Children Services and Catoosa County Codes Enforcement. The couple lived with their teenage children in a mobile home that did not have adequate heat, no hot water and the only running water was in the bathtub.
Evidence showed that the home was in a state of disrepair and filth. Codes Enforcement found the residence to be unlivable.
The father was an electrician and testified to earning $1,100-$1,800 a week after taxes.
In addition to the squalor of the residence, the couple repeatedly punished their teenage children by shooting them with Airsoft guns. The couple also restricted what their daughter could eat and padlocked the refrigerator to prevent her from obtaining food.
The daughter of this couple was also molested by her older half-brother who bribed her to allow sexual acts in exchange for food. The parents were aware of the molestation and left their daughter alone with her half-brother on a weekly basis while staying at another home they owned. The half-brother was sentenced to life with 25 years to serve.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Beth Evans and Assistant District Attorney David Wolfe tried the case with assistance from victim advocate Ashley Nicholson, investigators Christy Smith and Daniel Thacker, and administrative assistants Annabelle Carter, Jennifer Jackson and Rachel Moon.
“Parents should be the first in line to protect children, but if they fail, we will step into that breach of our most basic foundations of our community,” said District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller.
“The wickedness of a parent who treats their own flesh and blood with such cruelty and neglect will be met here in Northwest Georgia with the full force of justice.”