‘Cowardly and despicable’: Georgia father convicted of throwing infant son, breaking 22 of his bones

CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia father has been convicted of throwing of throwing his 7-week-old son across the room, breaking 22 of the child’s bones and fracturing his skull.

Michael Neal Stewart, 35, of Rock Spring, Georgia, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison with the first 18 years to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections.

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Prosecutors said that Stewart, who was unemployed, was watching his infant son on July 14, 2021 after the child’s mother had returned to work from her maternity leave.

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Prosecutors said Stewart threw the child across his bedroom, fracturing the baby’s skull and breaking a total of 22 bones including multiple vertebrae and both of the child’s legs.

On March 2, Stewart plead guilty to the charge of cruelty to children in the first degree.

Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Chris Arnt described Stewart’s actions as “cowardly and despicable.”

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“We would like to have been able to seek even more prison time in this case, but recent decisions from the Supreme Court of Georgia have greatly hampered prosecutions that occur in a single act of child abuse, even when multiple injuries are caused,” Arnt said.

The child has not been identified and it is unclear to what extent he has recovered from his injuries.

Family says missing Indiana mother was ready to move back to Georgia right before she disappeared The case now involves police in two states, plus the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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