CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Tyler James Esponge was accused of abusing a three-year-old child back in February 2021. In August, Channel 2 Action News reported he was convicted by a Cherokee County jury in less than an hour after a three-day trial.
Esponge was under investigation after a child was brought into Kennestone Hospital with a fractured femur and bite marks on her shoulder and ankle, as well as bruises on her arms, legs and right eye and petechiae under her left arm, the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office said in August.
New information provided by the DA’s office revealed the child in question was just three years old. The DA’s office said the child is both nonverbal and deaf and was brought to the hospital by her mother.
After seeing the injuries, investigators used forensics to determine that there was DNA present in saliva left on bite marks on the child belonging to a man, later confirmed to be Esponge.
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“This little girl was deaf, nonverbal, and completely reliant on others. Rather than protecting and caring for her, this defendant exploited her vulnerabilities and defenselessness,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hines, of the Special Victims Unit, Office of the District Attorney, said in a statement. “Fortunately, medical professionals recognized signs of child abuse and alerted law enforcement, saving her from further abuse.”
During the three-day trial in August, prosecutors showed evidence that not only had Esponge harmed the girl on multiple occasions over two years, but had also abused another child 10 years earlier.
On Tuesday, Esponge was sentenced to serve 37 years with the first 17 years to be served in confinement and the remainder to be served on probation.
“It shocks the conscience to imagine the horrific abuse this innocent little girl suffered, made especially heinous when considering her inability to verbalize what was happening to her,” District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said. “This sentence protects the victim and all children from further abuse at the hands of this defendant.”
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