CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A 35-year-old woman was sentenced to years in prison on Thursday for the physical abuse of her own child, the Office of the District Attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit announced.
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A superior court judge handed down a 40-year sentence to Candice Nicole McClure following a jury conviction in Cherokee County.
McClure, of Lenox, was found guilty of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. The sentencing occurred on the same day as the verdict.
The case originated in April 2023 when a Cherokee County elementary school teacher reported suspected child abuse. Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial that the abuse had been ongoing even before the family moved to the county, including documentation of injuries to the child dating back to 2016.
The investigation into McClure began in April 2023 after a teacher at a Cherokee County elementary school reported concerns involving a student. The child told the teacher that McClure had kicked and punched their legs and choked them with her hands. The report led the Division of Family & Children Services and the Canton Police Department to open a child abuse investigation.
Authorities said during an unannounced visit to the home, a DFCS employee photographed bruising on the child’s leg and a patterned injury on the forehead. The child was then taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Medical providers there documented significant leg bruising and a forehead injury consistent with being struck by a belt.
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Assistant District Attorney David Bailey, of the Special Victims Unit, prosecuted the case.
He noted that the family had only recently moved to the area when the reports were made.
“The family was new to Cherokee County and we believe the abuse had been ongoing before the family arrived,” Bailey said. “The schoolteachers are the heroes in this case. They recognized the signs of abuse and created a safe place for the child to come forward.”
The trial lasted four days and included testimony from 12 witnesses, such as law enforcement, medical providers and child advocacy experts. The jury also reviewed 20 exhibits, including a recorded forensic interview of the child and photographs of the injuries. Jurors deliberated for two and a half hours before returning a guilty verdict on all counts.
During the proceedings, prosecutors introduced evidence of prior difficulties involving the same child. This included medical documentation and photographs of injuries from a 2016 case in a different county. The child was 4 years old at the time of those earlier documented injuries.
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At the sentencing hearing, the child victim delivered a statement while accompanied by an adoptive parent, a victim advocate and a service dog named Parker. The child told McClure that no one deserves to be treated in such a manner and expressed gratitude for the jury’s decision. Judge Shannon Wallace acknowledged the child’s trauma on the record before imposing the maximum sentence.
District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said the 40-year sentence reflects the severity of the crimes.
“The trauma this child experienced is heartbreaking,” Treadaway said. “Instead of protecting her own child, the defendant repeatedly inflicted abuse that caused lasting harm.”
Treadaway added that the conviction sends a message that Cherokee County will hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
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