GUILTY GA - locksmith finds child tied up in back seat, 2015

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/crime-law/hall-county-mother-accused-of-taping-toddlers-mout/npMCM/

"Grace Love An, 18, called a locksmith Wednesday night to unlock her car on Ahaluna Drive, near Gainesville. The locksmith called police after seeing the child, who was lying in the backseat with cellophane and packing tape wrapped around the child’s mouth, hands and feet, the sheriff’s office said.

An was charged with first-degree cruelty to children, false imprisonment and reckless conduct, the sheriff’s office said."

I'm so glad she locked her keys in the car! She drove the 16-month old to the lake and it sounds like she was trying to get the courage up to throw him / her into it. I'm so thankful God intervened.

amymarie said:

i'm so glad she locked her keys in the car! She drove the 16-month old to the lake and it sounds like she was trying to get the courage up to throw him / her into it. I'm so thankful god intervened.

Click to expand...

wow!!!!

Oh wow. Speechless

What! Oh I hope this gets charged to the hilt.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Wow....cruelty? What about an attempted murder charge?

Just when you think you've heard it all...poor baby, I hope he/she gets placed into the loving home that's deserved.

Casey Anthony pops to mind.

Spomraning said:

Just when you think you've heard it all...poor baby, I hope he/she gets placed into the loving home that's deserved.

Click to expand...

I thought the same thing, wow.

I hope that in her subconscious she wanted to be stopped. That's what I'm hoping. I cannot imagine what her child was going through being restrained like that.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Cellophane + packing tape + child = ATTEMPTED MURDER

IMO

According to Hall County Sheriff's Office and witnesses, An drove to the end of a dead-end road in Gainesville and parked her car on Wednesday, 11Alive News reported.

She then reportedly locked her son inside the car before heading to Lake Lanier, where she went to sit and think for hours, according to the news station.

Click to expand...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...er-packing-tape-leaving-locked-car-hours.html

The child was only 16 months old?

Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deputy Nicole Bailes told WXIA-TV that authorities had not determined a motive.

“Obviously we’re going to factor in the mother’s age, and the fact that she has a 16-month-old child that she’s trying to raise on her own. That, in itself, is going to cause a lot of undue stress for a single parent,” she told the news station

Click to expand...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-with-cellophane-and-packing-tape-police-say/

Grace An is still in the Hall County jail, charged with:

CRUELTY CHILD 1ST
FALSE IMPRISONMENT
OBSTRUCT OFFICER (F)
REKLESS CONDUCT (M)

http://www.hallcounty.org/741/Inmate-Population-List

Still there... She mustn't be able to afford to post bond.

Angels were watching over this child for sure.
As hot as it was in GA this last week, it's a miracle that he was even found alive in the locked car.

June 2016:

Gainesville woman facing a child cruelty charge for allegedly binding her child in cellophane and packing tape gained new charges Thursday after a grand jury indictment...


According to Thursday’s indictment, An is accused of felony obstruction of an officer by “clenching her fist and striking (Hall County Sheriff’s Office officer John Bustamante) with her elbow.”

She also faces a charge of simple battery and misdemeanor obstruction for allegedly not following another officer’s verbal commands.

An was accused in the original indictment of depriving the child of oxygen and “blocking the passageways so that temporarily he could not breathe effectively out of his nose or mouth.”

The boy was initially transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center and released to the care of the Division of Family and Children Services.

Click to expand...

https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/ne...ld-in-cellophane-accused-of-striking-officer/

Feb 2017:

Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh confirmed that Grace An, 19, reached a plea deal with the court, pleading guilty to child cruelty, reckless conduct and false imprisonment charges.

An was sentenced to spend eight years behind bars with another 12 on probation. In addition, she will have to undergo mental evaluation and substance abuse treatment. An must perform community service, as well, and she was fined $2,000...

The child has since been adopted by a local couple, Darragh confirmed.

Click to expand...

http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/...ation-for-binding-toddler-son-with-cellophane

Feb 2017:

Assistant District Attorney Alicia Taylor said the state agreed to negotiate a plea agreement with defense attorney Phil Pilgrim because An did not have any prior felonies. An pleaded guilty to cruelty to a child in the first and second degrees, reckless conduct and false imprisonment. She declined to say anything when the judge gave her an opportunity to speak.

Pilgrim said his client is taking full responsibility for her actions, but also pointed at her young age and issues she’s been dealing with.

“They’re not excuses for anything, but it might help explain how she got to this point,” Pilgrim said. “She’s ready to enlist the resources that she’ll have at her disposal and hopefully change her life.”...
Taylor indicated the mother tied the boy and taped his mouth because he would not stop crying...

The Division of Family and Children Services took custody of An’s son... after her arrest, and since then the 2 1/2-year old has been adopted by [a couple]. The couple were in the courtroom when An was sentenced.

“He’s a happy little boy, but he definitely still has a lot to overcome,” [the adoptive mother] said.

The couple said the boy was 20 pounds and undernourished. They said An surrendered her maternal rights, and the court said An is allowed to have no contact with her son after she gets out of prison.

Click to expand...

https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/woman-who-hog-tied-her-toddler-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison/

Bringing up an old topic just to think out loud...

I often wonder about people like this. Is she still in prison? Was she an early COVID release? How much has she thought about that fateful incident a few years ago? What is she planning on doing when she gets out of prison? What would she have to say about things like " the police" or "eliminate incarceration"?

I think a lot of people, certainly the kinds of people who hang out around boards like this, consider the story to be over with a "happy ending" when the bad guy gets shipped off to jail. Out of sight, out of mind. Lock 'em up and keep 'em there. If they ever get out (which we don't really want them to, unless they happen to be someone we know), make life as difficult as possible for them so that they end up going right back to prison again sooner or later. Deny them jobs. Make sure everyone knows their history. Keep them from finding places to live.

I don't know anything about Grace Love An. How did she end up getting pregnant at 16 (or so)? What were the circumstances of her life? How much support did she have? I'm pretty sure of this, though: her life is very likely to be worse when she gets out of prison than it was before she went in. The chances are very high that she'll end up bouncing in and out of prison for the rest of her life. And honestly, I doubt very many people care.

If anything good comes out of all the turmoil we're experiencing right now about police and all that, maybe it would be a serious cultural examination about what our prisons are actually for, and whether or not significant prison time is actually the appropriate way to correct misbehavior in our citizenry. But to be frank, I doubt very much that will happen.