Community Corner
Jury Convicts Man in Austell Potty Training Beating
He "struck a 22-month-old baby in the groin multiple times because he wouldn't pee in the potty," Cobb Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring said.
A Cobb County jury found a 31-year-old Thomasville man guilty of whipping a 22-month-old boy because he wouldn't use the toilet.
Andrew Charles Pride was convicted of one count of cruelty to children in the first degree, which carries a punishment of five to 20 years in prison, Kim Isaza, the spokeswoman for Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds, said in a statement.
Evidence showed Pride repeatedly whipped the toddler on his genitals, causing bleeding and leaving welt marks, on Aug. 17, 2012, at an Austell residence.
"This wasn’t an accident," Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring said. "This was malicious. And it was all because of potty training. Mr. Pride struck a 22-month-old baby in the groin multiple times because he wouldn’t pee in the potty. This man’s actions are the definition of malice."
The jury deadlocked on a second count of the same charge. Pride allegedly encouraged an older child to say that the child had inflicted the beating on the toddler. The condition of the child was not immediately available.
Pride is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
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