Catoosa County jury convicts Rock Spring man of throwing infant, breaking 22 bones and fracturing skull
A 35-year-old Rock Spring, Michael Neal Stewart, was given a 20-year sentence in the Catoosa County Superior Court, with the first 18 years to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections.
On March 2, he pleaded guilty to cruelty to children in the first degree, with no plea agreement from the district attorney.
According to Chris
Arnt, district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit:
On July 14, 2021, an unemployed Stewart was home with his seven-week-old son. The child’s mother had just returned to work from her maternity leave. Stewart threw his baby across his bedroom, breaking a total of 22 bones in the infant’s body. Stewart fractured the child’s skull, multiple vertebrae, and both of the child’s legs.
Sentencing was argued before Judge Ralph Van Pelt. The victim’s mother, grandmother, and Ringgold Police Department Detective Daniel King testified on behalf of the state of Georgia. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Deanna Reisman.
Arnt described Stewart’s actions as “cowardly and despicable.”
“We would like to have been able to seek even more prison time in this case,” Arnt said, “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.”
The charge of cruelty to children in the first degree carries a possible punishment of 5-20 years, Arnt said.
“Even in a situation like this, where the defendant admits his guilt, my office put in a tremendous amount of effort to investigate and prepare this case so we could prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt,” Arnt said.
He said he was pleased with the substantial prison sentence imposed by Judge Van Pelt in this case.
“I hope the victim has a full recovery and the rest of the family can put their lives back together and move on from this terrible crime,” Arnt said.