The stepfather and mother of a 3-year-old Georgia girl, who died from what police called a heinous beating and sexual assault, are in custody.
What We Know:
- Janiyah Armanie Brooks was found unresponsive when the Albany Police Department (APD) responded to her home on May 13. When police arrived, 20-year-old Gregory Parker told them his stepdaughter was unconscious. Medics rushed the young girl to an Atlanta-area hospital and police began an investigation which they say uncovered, a “heinous” crime of child abuse.
- “The child had injuries to her vaginal area, ribs, along with swollen hands and unknown trauma to her head,” according to a press release. It was not the first time the victim had been hurt, according to an investigation by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. An exam showed more evidence of older wounds.
- Police arrested Parker and charged him with aggravated child molestation, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery and first-degree cruelty to children.
- They also arrested Crystal Brooks, the child’s 19-year-old mother. Investigators discovered that not only did she know about the abuse, but she was present as well. She was charged with being a party to aggravated battery, first-degree cruelty to children and giving a false statement.
- A nationally estimated 1,750 children died from abuse or neglect and almost 70 percent of child fatalities involved children three years old or younger in the year 2016, according to Child Welfare. This is not an isolated incident either. Earlier this month, we reported a similar case of child cruelty.
The case is still under investigation.
