City councilwoman accused of causing ‘excessive physical pain’ to minors

A longtime Fort Valley city councilwoman surrendered to authorities on allegations of child cruelty.

Juanita Bryant, 66, was booked into the Peach County jail Friday after a warrant was signed for her arrest the day before.

According to arrest warrants obtained by The Telegraph, Bryant “maliciously caused excessive physical pain” to two youths, ages 12 and 17.

J.T. Ricketson, special agent in charge of the Perry office of the GBI, said the Peach County Sheriff’s Office called in state investigators Feb. 2 to look into allegations.

“We secured a search warrant and found probable cause to issue two arrest warrants,” Ricketson said.

Bryant is accused of two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, which is a felony with a penalty of 5-20 years, he said.

The alleged abuse happened between October 2016 and the end of last month, but specifics of the alleged crimes were not included in the warrants.

Bryant has been released on bond. The Fort Valley City Council website notes that Bryant’s term expires this year.

No one answered calls Tuesday morning to Bryant’s cellphone, which was not accepting messages.

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 11:33 AM with the headline "City councilwoman accused of causing ‘excessive physical pain’ to minors."