ROSSVILLE, Ga. (TCD) — A 24-year-old father will spend 30 years in prison for repeatedly hitting his two young children over the course of two days in 2023, causing “horrific bruising” and other injuries.
According to an April 19 statement from the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, on March 20, a Catoosa County jury found Dillan Tennant guilty of two counts of first-degree cruelty to children following a three-day trial. A judge subsequently sentenced Tennant to 30 years, with the first half to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections. He was also ordered not to contact the victims, nor can he have any unsupervised contact with minors.
According to prosecutors, Tennant and his two children, a 2-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter, lived together with the defendant’s father, mother, and brother. Between March 14 and March 16, 2023, the children reportedly “made a mess in their bedroom” and Tennant beat them repeatedly for two days. The district attorney’s office argued Tennant even used a board to hit his son.
Following the beating, Tennant reportedly took his children and fled the home, and he stayed with a friend to hide the injuries.
Tennant reportedly returned to his parents’ home with the children days later. According to the district attorney’s office, the grandparents and uncle noticed the victims’ injuries and reported that Tennant had abused them.
During an interview, Tennant admitted to authorities that he noticed the severity of his children’s injuries, but he denied causing them. Tennant reportedly blamed another family member, but he never sought medical attention for the children.
Witnesses with the Department of Family and Children’s Services testified in court and said the “bruising was some of the worst that had been seen in their career,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Additionally, a forensic pediatric doctor from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reportedly said during the trial that “the injuries were non-accidental and the result of repeated strikes using a great degree of force.”
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