DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Three of four suspects were sentenced after pleading guilty on Wednesday in a child abuse at a DeKalb County daycare.
According to an indictment, the abuse spanned from June 20, 2022, to June 22, 2022, at the Appletree Learning Center in DeKalb County. The name of the daycare has now been changed after it closed down. The district attorney's office stated the charges are tied to 13 victims who ranged in age from six months to three years old.
RELATED: Police report: Mom was told 3-year-old son's injuries at DeKalb daycare were 'mosquito bites'
Alexis Swain, 28, Cassandra Chambers, 56, and Cori Chambers, 21, pleaded guilty to the abuse that happened at the Appletree Learning Center. Swain and Cori Chambers pleaded guilty to child cruelty charges, while Cassandra Chambers pleaded guilty to one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.
“The defendants in this case victimized some of DeKalb County’s most precious residents, many of whom were too young to tell anyone about the abuse they endured,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston.
Swain apologized to the court and the families, begging not to receive the maximum sentence before the judge revealed her consequences. Swain received a sentence of five years in prison, with five years of probation served.
Boston added in her statement that she was instead "stunned" by the sentence for Swain, stating it was "too short."
“However, we are stunned by the injustice of the sentence for Defendant Swain. We feel the sentence is far too short considering the long-term and continuing effects of the abuse these children and their families are suffering," Boston said.
Cori Chambers received 10 years probation and 120 days of house arrest. Cassandra Chambers received 12 months of probation and 80 hours of community service. All defendants are restricted from contacting the victims and working in child care.
Cherretta Hull, 78, also faced child cruelty charges but was released from the courtroom on Wednesday, leaving with an ankle monitor as the state evaluates her competency. According to the district attorney's office, her case was listed as pending.
On Wednesday, the judge heard testimony from an abuse pediatrician. DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson then heard from six parents during victim impact statements, and three parents submitted letters before sentencing the defendants.
Kourtney Chang said her child was the one who helped her blow the whistle on what was going on. She said her children, aged eight months old and three years old, at the time, were abused.
"He sustained a hematoma to his head and a concussion," Chang said.
Antavian Bing said he's a single father of a daughter who was two years old at the time of the abuse. He said he feels justice wasn't served and that Swain should serve a longer sentence.
"My daughter was slammed on the changing table," Bing said. "My daughter was slapped in the head. And my daughter was yanked up."
Aniijah Burston and Kendrick Johnson said their daughter was abused at two years old as well. And now, potty training has been difficult.
"My daughter has accidents more than the normal four-year-old where I'm still buying pull-ups for her to sleep at night because she has nightmares," Burston said.
Johnson said Swain deserves 25 years.
"Ten years is not enough. It's not enough," Burston said.
Swain's lawyer, DeShon Jones, defended her, explaining that Swain was only supposed to be handling eight kids at a time, but she was overwhelmed with 10. Also, Jones said Swain had an arm injury at the time. He said while he didn't want to make excuses for her, this was not her character. Swain's mother submitted a letter of support. He asked the judge to give her 12 years with five served instead of the 20 years the state recommended.
"The state describes the daycare as a house of horrors. I don't necessarily disagree with that characterization, but I would like to provide the context that that house was not built by Ms. Swain alone," Jones said.
An indictment filed in November stated that the children experienced pushing, aggressive grabbing, and rough handling. Testimony in court on Wednesday revealed that some of the children were also dragged and choked.
Swain said she has a son with special needs who also attended the daycare.
"If anybody did this to him, I would feel exactly how these parents feel today, but that is not me," Swain said as she addressed the court during her sentence.
The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office stated that investigators reviewed three days' worth of surveillance video from inside the daycare that revealed the abuse. Judge Jackson said she wouldn't show the video Wednesday so as not to traumatize the parents.
Cassandra Chambers was the director of the daycare. And despite being aware of the abuse after reviewing the footage, she did not tell anyone, the district attorney's news release stated.
Cori Chambers was a floater; the state and her attorney agree that she was one of few workers who showed affection to the children.
Neither woman had a prior criminal history. Their lawyers told the court they accepted responsibility and apologized.
Meanwhile, civil litigation against the daycare is still pending.