Local

Mom's boyfriend guilty in toddler beating

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — A man accused of beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old son was found guilty of child cruelty Wednesday.

Chad Pierre-Louis was acquitted of aggravated assault, battery and first-degree child cruelty charges but convicted of second-degree child cruelty. His girlfriend, Suzie Elie, already admitted to beating the toddler but said Pierre-Louis wasn't involved. She received a 20-year prison sentence.

In November, Elie took the boy to a wooded area on Ashton Court and began to hit, kick and beat him with a tree limb. Pierre-Luis said he was there but didn't participate in the beating.

Witness Lauren Moonsars testified that she walked by while the child was being beaten and saw Pierre-Louis participating in the attack.

"I'm not sure I saw him push him but I saw him kick him," Moonsars testified.

But two other witnesses said they didn't see Pierre-Louis hit the child.

Douglas County Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ackley called it a brutal attack.

"He had lacerations from his head to his toes," Ackley said in court.

Elie told police she beat the boy because he was disrespectful.

"A 3-year-old little boy woke up and he cried. And for that he received one of the worst beatings I've ever seen," Ackley said.