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Candice McClure (Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office).
A Georgia mother faces a lengthy prison sentence after her child confided in an elementary school teacher about enduring severe abuse at home. The child revealed that their mother had beaten their legs, choked them, and frequently struck them on the forehead with a belt, as reported by prosecutors.
The Cherokee County District Attorney, Susan K. Treadaway, praised the educators for their critical role in this case. “The schoolteachers are the heroes,” Treadaway stated in a statement following the sentencing of Candice McClure. “They recognized the signs of abuse and created a safe place for the child to come forward.”
McClure, aged 35, hailing from Lenox, was handed a 40-year prison sentence after a jury convicted her of aggravated assault and child cruelty. This verdict came at the conclusion of a four-day trial, as detailed by the District Attorney’s office. The office revealed that McClure had been inflicting abuse on “the same child” for nearly a decade, having previously faced child cruelty charges in 2016.
The conviction arose from a report initiated by the child in 2023, which led to a thorough investigation by Child Services that exposed the ongoing abuse.
The District Attorney’s office recounted that a Cherokee County elementary school teacher expressed concerns about potential child abuse regarding a student in her class. The child had confided in the teacher about McClure’s violent actions, including kicking, punching, and choking. This disclosure prompted the Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) and the Canton Police Department to launch a child abuse investigation into McClure’s conduct.
DFCS workers made an unannounced visit to McClure’s home after the investigation was launched and a DFCS employee photographed bruising on the child’s leg and a “patterned injury on the child’s forehead.”
“The child was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where medical providers documented significant bruising on the legs, as well as a patterned injury on the forehead consistent with being struck by a belt,” the DA’s office explained.
The child later participated in a forensic interview, during which the child provided additional information. “The family was new to Cherokee County, and we believe the abuse had been ongoing before the family arrived,” the DA’s office said.
McClure’s indictment, which was viewed by Law&Crime, says she used her hands to strangle her child “by applying pressure to the neck and throat.” It also says she “maliciously” caused “cruel and excessive physical and mental pain” by strangling the child and striking them repeatedly on their legs.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony from a dozen witnesses, including the victim, other family members, law enforcement, medical providers, child advocacy experts, DFCS personnel, and Cherokee County School District personnel. Prosecutors introduced 20 exhibits, including a recorded forensic interview of the child, photographs of the victim’s injuries, and documentation from school personnel that helped convict McClure.
The jury deliberated for just two and a half hours before returning its verdict.
“At trial and during sentencing, the state referenced the defendant’s prior difficulties, including medical evidence and photographs documenting injuries to the same child in another county in 2016,” the DA’s office recounted. “The child was 4 years old at that time.”
News reports published by The Valdosta Daily Times and Thomasville Times-Enterprise in 2016 describe how McClure’s child was taken to a medical center two different times that year with “unexplainable” bruises and scrapes covering their body “from head to toe.”
The child delivered a victim impact statement at McClure’s sentencing last week, accompanied by an adoptive parent, a victim advocate, and their service dog Parker “who provided comfort and support,” according to the DA’s office.
“The child expressed appreciation for being ‘heard’ by the jury and told the defendant that no one deserves to be treated in that manner,” the office said. “Judge Wallace then acknowledged the child’s trauma on the record before imposing the maximum sentence allowed under Georgia law.”
Treadaway described the child’s trauma and abuse as “heartbreaking” in her statement announcing McClure’s sentence.
“Instead of protecting her own child, the defendant repeatedly inflicted abuse that caused lasting harm,” Treadaway said. “This conviction and sentence send a clear message that Cherokee County will not tolerate the abuse of children and will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”