Former teacher, Macon school board member to serve probation on child cruelty conviction
A former schoolteacher and Bibb County Board of Education member has been convicted of child cruelty charges, the local district attorney’s office announced in a news release Thursday.
Carnethia Elaine Dunhan-Vickers, 67, was found guilty of one count of child cruelty in the first degree on May 20. She was accused of repeatedly beating a 6-year-old foster child in her care around June 2021, according to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
“(The) staff at daycare discovered severe bruising across the child’s arms and body, including multiple overlapping belt wounds on her lower back,” the news release said. “Dunham-Vickers … denied the abuse at trial, but on cross-examination admitted the injuries were excessive and cruel.”
While Dunham-Vickers was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation, the sentence was suspended under the First Offender Act, which allows first-time defendants to serve a lesser sentence “provided said Defendant abides by all terms and conditions of probation,” court documents said.
“Defendant is eligible for early termination of probation — including dismissal of the $45,000 fine — after establishing a $25,000 trust for the benefit of (the victim),” according to court documents.
Dunham-Vickers also was ordered to not have contact with any minor and to complete a family violence intervention program, and will undergo an anger management evaluation, court documents said.
“In this jurisdiction, you cannot abuse children in your care and walk away without consequences,” said Anita Howard, Macon Judicial Circuit district attorney. “Although last month was National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we focus on protecting children 365 days a year.”
