The owner of a Griffin day care was sentenced to 20 years in prison after she was convicted on three counts of second-degree child cruelty.
The verdict was split for 64-year-old Connie Pound, as the Spalding County jury acquitted her on three other counts and could not reach a decision on three others, Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie G. Broder said in a statement. Jurors were presented with evidence alleging that multiple infants and toddlers had been injured while in Pound’s care between 2013 and 2022, Broder said.
The case began March 31, 2022, when a mother called police to report that her 15-month-old daughter had come home from Pound’s in-home day care with bruising on her head and neck. That followed a pattern in which her daughter came home several other times with unexplained bruising, Broder said.
The initial report led to a months-long investigation by Griffin police, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors presented evidence of abuse involving seven other children at trial. Broder said investigators were also approached by “numerous other parents” who reported child abuse at the hands of Pound but did not want to be named in the indictment for fear of retribution from Pound.
In addition to 20 years in prison, Pound will face 10 years of probation upon her release.
“This case has been a difficult one for everyone involved,” Broder said. “I am hopeful that this verdict brings peace to the families of these precious babies and sends a message to the community that we will not tolerate abuse against our most vulnerable.”
Broder said parents continue to come forward with allegations against Pound, who was booked back into the Spalding jail Saturday and remains there.
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