CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. — A three-day trial led to a 24-year-old Ringgold man being convicted of cruelty to children.
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In March 2023, Dillan Michael Tenant, 24, of Ringgold, was giving with his parents, brother, and two children in the Rossville area.
Officials state that while at home, Tenant became enraged while supervising his two-year-old son and three-year-old daughter after they made a mess in their bedroom.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Tenant hit the children repeatedly over two days, using a board to hit his son. The 24-year-old left the home and took the kids to a guy friend’s house in an attempt to hide the injuries he had inflicted on his children. Days later, Tenant came back to the home with his kids.
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The DA’s office said the children’s grandparents and uncle noticed the bruising and injuries and contacted police to report that Tenant had abused them.
When questioned by police, Tenant initially denied the claims, stating that another family member injured the children. Even after admitting to noticing the severity of the bruises on his children, Tenant reportedly never tried to seek medical treatment for his children.
Witnesses from the Department of Family and Children’s Services testified that the bruising was some of the worst that they had ever seen in their career.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation forensic pediatric doctor testified that the injuries were non-accidental and were due to repeated hits using a great degree of force.
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On Wednesday, a Catoosa County jury convicted Tenant on two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. Two days later, a judge sentenced him to thirty years with the first fifteen to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Tenant is neither permitted to have any contact with his children nor to have unsupervised contact with any minor under the age of 18.
“This child abuser will have plenty of time to clean his room in the Department of Corrections,” District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller said.
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